Mumbai: Chandivali residents to hold silent protest on Feb 12, demand completion of 90-feet road

A parked garbage collection vehicle of the BMC on the partially built 90 feet road. Pic/Sameer Markande

While the BMC is busy beautifying Mumbai by breaking perfectly fine dividers and footpaths, Chandivli residents are demanding something planned years ago - a 90-foot road. In 2021, the BMC built only 1/3rd of the road, which is also full of illegal parking and encroachment. Ignored for long, the locals plan to make their voice heard on Sunday.

Once known for small industries, Chandivli developed into a residential area with many high-rises over the past two decades. But the connecting roads remained narrow and couldn't take the pressure of heavy traffic.

Two-wheelers and trucks are parked on the partially built 90-ft road. Pic/Sameer Markande

The residents of Chandivli blamed the BMC for their traffic woes. Civic officials have been making them run from one office to another, they alleged. Currently, the locals are left with just two, congested routes - Chandivli Farm Road and DP Road 9.

BMC's Development Plan had proposed to build the 600-metre-long and 90-foot-wide road, which would have connected Saki Naka to Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) via Chandivli Farm Road.

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Three years ago, the BMC built 200 metres of the road, which has now been taken over by encroachers and is being used for parking.

On Chandivli Farm Road, a vehicle cannot move if a BEST bus is plying ahead. DR Road 9, which is the only route connecting the area to JVLR, has innumerable patches of paver blocks.

Sukumar Panikker, secretary of Oberoi Garden society, said, "The population has increased 10 fold over the past 15 years. There is no planning in the development of the area. There is only one road for the entire traffic in the area and i.e. Chandivli Farm Road, which gets congested. We have written to the local authorities multiple times over the past five years, but there is no resolution yet."

Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA), He said the proposed road, when completed, would provide immense relief to the local citizens.

He added that the construction of the rest of the road never started, because there are private properties on the way. "Why did the BMC construct a 200-metre patch by spending R3 crore-R4 crore? What purpose did it serve? It is currently being used for parking of 400-500 two-wheelers, the civic corporation's garbage collection vehicles and every passing day, new illegal structures are cropping up on the road. We have written a letter to P Velrasu, additional commissioner." The residents now hope the BMC will hear them on Sunday, when they will stage a protest at 11 am.

"We want the road to be completed. For the meanwhile, the BMC should take action against encroachment of footpaths on all the roads connecting to our area, as it inconveniences pedestrians and causes traffic jams," said other residents of Chandivli.

Velrasu did not respond to mid-day's query.

11am
Time of the protest on Sunday

400m
Length of the proposed road that's not been built yet