09 March,2014 11:27 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
MMRDA responds to residents' demands, to erect noise barriers along Freeway on the Anik-Panjrapol Link Road. The barriers will come up by June
In a major victory for the residents of Chembur, particularly those living in and around Mysore Colony, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has agreed to erect noise barriers along the Anik Panjrapol Link Road (APLR) of the Eastern freeway to reduce the noise pollution in the residential areas. The barriers will be set up along a 300-metre stretch of the APLR near Mysore colony over the next few weeks.
The MMRDA will be spending Rs 75 lakh for the installation of the noise barriers on Anik-Panjrapol Link Road
Speaking to SUNDAY mid-day, MMRDA chief engineer Sharad Sabnis said, "Local residents had approached the MMRDA requesting us to install noise barriers on the stretch because the houses were very close to the Freeway there. Taking note of the fact, we have decided to install noise barriers along the entire stretch." The MMRDA will be spending Rs 75 lakh for the installation of the noise barriers. The north-bound stretch has residential societies and even bungalows.
An old demand
Residents say the demand for noise barriers is an old one that they had raised even before the inauguration of the Eastern Freeway. "We have invited tenders for the installation of the barriers and they will be installed by June," an MMRDA officer confirmed. The MMRDA has already installed view cutters on the south-bound carriageway of the Freeway as the stretch goes over refineries of petroleum companies.
