Mumbai: Chandivli locals demand encroachment-free DP road 9

DP road 9

As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) agreed to work on the Chandivli residents' complaints about the 90-feet road being illegally encroached on, the locals now want the BMC to also concentrate on other connecting roads in the area which have congestion and encroachment issues too.

In a meeting with Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu, the locals submitted a letter to him raising the encroachment issue of one lane of DP road 9 beside the other roads in the area.

While the officials from BMC's L ward surveyed the 90-feet road, the residents were told that DP Road 9 does not come under their jurisdiction. DP Road 9, where Powai police station is located, connects the Chandivli area to the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR).

"We can't be running from one BMC ward office to another to highlight the problem. We have written a letter to Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu raising the congestion and encroachment issue on various roads in our area. BMC is coming with Pedestrian First Policy but they should also concentrate on roads being encroached," said Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA).

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Sukumar Pannikar, another resident, added "We request to provide clear footpaths on DP road 9 under the Pedestrian First Policy. Presently, one lane of DP road 9 has been encroached on by locals and rickshaw drivers parking their autorickshaws. There is no place for pedestrians to walk and it is completely blocked which creates a bottleneck at the intersection of the road and JVLR."

On February 17, the local MLA also inaugurated the road concretization work of DP road 9. All roads (DP road 9, 90-feet road, IRB road) are connecting each other to connect the citizens from JVLR to Saki Naka.

"The BMC should provide information on the contractor's details who is working on the project which will help citizens to remain well informed," added Singh.

mid-day.com tried to reach out to BMC authority for comments. But, Additional Commissioner (Projects) P Velrasu was unavailable for comment.