06 October,2011 07:38 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
Tiny signboards and lack of traffic wardens force motorists to ride a kilometre into the blocked Veera Desai Road before being asked to take a U-turn and drive all the way back
Thanks to some haphazard placement of signboards by the MMRDA-MMOPL officials, for motorists, travelling from the New Link Road to reach Andheri station via Veera Desai Marg has become a nightmare. With the closure of the one km-long Jeevan Nagar Junction on the New Link Road leading to the Court Yard Hotel for the ongoing Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) Metro rail, the hapless motorists are now forced to take a U-turn, come back to the New Link Road and then commute via Juhu Circle to reach Andheri, which is both time and fuel-consuming.
Can't read the fine print? Residents claim that the signboards are so
inconspicuous that they fail to grab the motorists' attention.
PICS/SAYED SAMEER ABEDI
With traffic problems getting worse with each passing day in Andheri, the closure of this road will only aggravate the problem, lamented the locals. The commuters travelling towards Andheri from Lokhandwala, Jogeshwari via Veera Desai Road now will have to go all the way to Juhu Circle and then reach Andheri.
Illogical placement
It was noticed that the diversion board, indicating the changed routes and blockades, which should have been installed opposite Krishna Temple informing south bound motorist coming from Jogeshwari, Lokhandwala, Jeevan Nagar via Veera Desai that a right turn available from the temple to reach Apna Bazaar on JP Road via Azad Nagar Colony has been misplaced. To make a mockery of the motorists, the 'no entry' board has been installed opposite Kamal Chhaya restaurant and bar, misleading the motorist as they take a right ahead of the temple, towards the Court Yard Hotel.
Choc-a-block: The traffic congestion resulting from the no entry on J P Road
Motorist Satyavijay Kadu said, "By installing small diversion boards and not posting wardens or traffic marshals on the road, indicates that MMRDA and MMOPL don't care about the people."
Speaking to MiD DAY, Gaurav Bane, a Veera Desai resident, said, "The diversion boards installed at various places informing about the closure are so small, that on several occasions the motorists miss them and enter the zone. It is only after reaching the hotel they discover about the closure and they can neither go to station, nor can they go towards Apna Bazaar or Four Bungalows."
After visiting the spot, it was discovered that though the diversion boards were put up at various locations,
there was not a single private marshal or traffic warden present at the site, restricting the motorists from entering the zone.
Another resident, Kushal Dauhri, furiously stated, "If MMRDA-MMOPL want to close the road, then they should at least post private guards at various junctions and seek traffic police's help to manage traffic jams. Or else,
the locals will get onto the streets
and protest."
The other side
Speaking to MiD DAY, MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawatkar, said, "We regret the inconvenience being caused to the commuters, but we will try and finish the work as soon as possible so that the road can be reopened. We will see to it that big boards are put up so that motorists don't enter the closed road and waste their time. To avoid traffic jams, traffic wardens and marshals will also be posted at various junctions."
