Mumbai rains: Waterlogging, potholes throw life out of gear on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway

Chaotic scenes unfold along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway amid Wednesday’s deluge. Pics/Hanif Patel

The incessant rainfall caught the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) off guard as all arterial roads in the area under its jurisdiction were heavily waterlogged on Wednesday, throwing local residents' lives out of gear. A huge traffic jam was also noticed on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway due to waterlogging, apart from pothole-ridden stretches.

The traffic snarl had left road users fuming after the first spell of rain this monsoon, which caused the roads near Sasunavghar on the highway to become heavily waterlogged.

"This is another location, near Welcome Dhaba, where the water is 2.5 feet high. This new location is hardly 5 km from Selfie Dhaba where the roads were waterlogged due to the first spell of rain," said Traffic Inspector Sagar Ingole of Mira Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police.

Cops in waist-high water

Waist-high in water, police officers had to risk their lives to regulate traffic. "The roads are jammed from Kashimira to Welcome Dhaba on both sides," Ingole said.
Milk suppliers, who travel every day on the highway from their tabelas [dairies] in Vasai to Borivli, told mid-day that the traffic was moving at an extremely slow pace. "Drivers are scared to drive on the waterlogged stretch, which is riddled with potholes," said Mehndi Ali, the owner of Indian Dairy in Vasai.

"Earlier, we would take hardly an hour to reach Mumbai, but today it took us four hours because the highway is pathetically waterlogged and the stretch is riddled with potholes," said Mehndi Ali.

The secretary of Milk Producer Welfare of Association, Ahmed Ali, said, "As we can't preserve milk for a long duration, it spoils fast. If milk trucks are caught in traffic, we will incur a huge loss. We have already suffered financially because of a traffic snarl on the highway. The authorities concerned must look into this and resolve the issue."

Cops try in vain to control traffic on the pothole-ridden stretch

The milk tankers were taking Bhiwandi route to reach Mumbai from Vasai, said Ahmed Ali.

Meanwhile, the Mehndi Ali told mid-day that there are over 8,000 buffaloes in 46 tabelas in Kaman village of Vasai. "If the milk is not supplied in Mumbai on time, many children, elderly people, hotels, restaurants and others will have to face the cascading effect of traffic jams on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway," he said.

Mehndi Ali added, "The roads near Chinchoti, Maljipada and Sasunavghar are riddled with potholes and it is dangerous to drive loaded trucks on such stretches if they are heavily waterlogged."

"The traffic snarl is terrible between Chinchoti and Fountain Hotel junction on the south-bound stretch. And on the northbound stretch, the vehicles are stuck between the Delhi Darbar Hotel in Kashimira and Maljipada. It is a vast stretch of not less than 12 to 15 km," he said.

A milk truck driver, Bhadruddin Qureshi, 48, said, "I have to travel from Chinchoti to Borivli to deliver milk daily. Under normal circumstances, I take 45 minutes to an hour to reach my destination. But since the monsoon began, I need three to four hours to reach the same spot. There are potholes near Maljipada, Sasunavghar and Kinara Dhaba."

He added that if the milk is not delivered on time, it spoils. "Some 15 days ago this happened. I felt bad as I couldn't do anything," he said.

Qureshi slammed the authorities, saying, "The policemen don't help us and we are not allowed to drive from the right side. They impose fines. The traffic doesn't move."

A truck driver told mid-day, "Traffic near Maljipada is inevitable, I travel to Delhi every day. It usually takes 22 hours, but now I take 48 hours to reach there. The roads are in a pathetic condition. There are potholes and waterlogging is seen. The police are of no help to us. They try to impose fines for silly reasons."

Dev Yadav, 40, a milk van driver, said, "Today, I travelled from Kandivli to Chinchoti and it took three hours to complete my journey. Maljipada has a lot of potholes. I doubt it has a road. Bad roads and waterlogging are an open invitation for accidents. I have to be vigilant and dodge craters. Driving on such roads is a task."

Ambulances held up

Yadav claimed that even ambulances were being held up on the stretch. "The situation is such that even ambulances have to wait. People and authorities cooperate so that the ambulance can move, but it is time-consuming and could be dangerous," he added.

All of the drivers said they were suffering from back pain because of the excessive amount of time spent behind the wheel in traffic.

The owners of hotels, resorts and dhabas that were partially razed recently in an anti-encroachment drive told mid-day that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as well as VVCMC must create a proper drainage system to prevent waterlogging on the highway.

"Why is there waterlogging despite the authorities cracking down on dhabas along the highway? The officials say the high water level is responsible for waterlogging, but the fact is the VVCMC did not clean nullahs, which always get choked during the monsoon. Also, the entire stretch on the highway lacks a proper drainage system," said a hotel owner.

OfficialSpeak

Meanwhile, Sumit Kumar, manager (technical), NHAI, told mid-day, "We are trying to fix the potholes as soon as possible. A permanent solution will be possible only if there is a dry period during which we can fill the potholes. It is true that the highway is waterlogged but it was mainly due to sea water and torrential rain."
He added, "We are in constant touch with the traffic police and have requested that vehicles coming from Surat to Mumbai be allowed to cross the creek on one lane on the newly opened Versova bridge because a few potholes have developed on the southern side of the bridge on the creek."

The collector of Palghar district has issued a red alert as heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in the area. "The red alert has been issued for the duration between July 18 to 22. The authorities should be ready in case of flooding," read the collector's letter issued to VVCMC chief Anil Pawar on July 18.

Vasai-Virar roads flooded

Avinash Koshti, the tehsildar of Vasai taluka told mid-day that all arterial roads in Vasai-Virar and Nalasopara were heavily waterlogged.

On an average, 153 mm of rainfall was recorded in Vasai taluka on the morning of July 19. All the arterial roads are heavily waterlogged in Vasai-Virar and Nalasopara areas of Palghar district. Many residents preferred to stay at home.

A few office-goers had to put up with torrential rainfall while travelling to railway stations to reach their workplaces in Mumbai while many preferred to stay indoors and work from home.

"Incessant rainfall has taken a toll in Vasai-Virar where most arterial roads are heavily waterlogged. I woke up early in the morning to catch the train to Mumbai but it had been raining non-stop. I could not go out to work and stayed at home," said Vasai resident Girish Iyer.

When contacted, the VVCMC chief Anil Pawar claimed to be busy video conferencing all day.

153mm
Rainfall received in Vasai taluka on Wed morning