Exclusive! Nightmare on NH48: 'We are stuck on this road for five hours!'

The long queue of vehicles stuck on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. Pics/Hanif Patel

The ongoing concreting work on a six-lane bituminous carriageway on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway has thrown traffic out of gear. White topping work has commenced at two locations - near the Khaniwade toll plaza and close to the Tungareshwar temple. However, the contractor, Nirmal BuildInfra Private Limited, has reportedly redirected traffic without obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from local police leading to chaos on the highway.

Numerous vehicles, including ambulances and cabs carrying passengers heading to the airport, have remained stranded for hours on the highway. Transporters informed mid-day that the situation worsens at night, with hundreds of inter-state heavy vehicles forced to shut down engines for extended periods due to unregulated traffic.

The ongoing concreting work is severely impacting southbound traffic. Commuters travelling daily from Vasai to Mumbai highlight Chinchoti Phata as a bottleneck, with vehicles from Vasai to NH-48 and Dahanu to Mumbai experiencing significantly prolonged waits to cross the Varsova bridge, according to Atul Mote, a local resident of Vasai.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Prakash Gaikwad of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police said, "The contractor's diversions on the highway were made without informing us, and no NOC was obtained from the MBVV police." Traffic Inspector Sagar Ingole added, "The contractor should have stationed traffic wardens at diversion points, but none were deployed. Now, all vehicles are being rerouted to Vasai, causing expected heavy traffic near Range Road. We have asked the contractor to deploy a traffic warden at the diversion spot."

Traffic Inspector Sagar Ingole, Truck driver Imran Memon and Mahesh Champanerkar, Advocate

Addressing these concerns, General Manager Ashok Kumar Sharma of Nirmal Build Infra Private Limited said, "We have taken permission from all necessary authorities specified by the NHAI for our developmental work before the work started." Acknowledging the traffic disruptions caused by the ongoing work, Sharma said, "We've deployed 16 traffic wardens near Vasai Phata and plan to increase the deployment on Friday."

MBVV police senior officials fear that the heavy traffic jams on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway could escalate into law and order issues. Road users tend to lose their cool when stuck, leading to heated arguments and potential physical assaults. The Contractor should have informed local police stations about ongoing developmental work to prevent such situations.

Commuters facing loses

Truck driver Imran Memon said, "I was transporting dumping material from Pelhar to Kaman, a distance of around 12 km. It took me over 4 hours on Thursday to navigate the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway." "Due to the delay, I missed another assignment in Kaman, incurring a loss of Rs 6,000," Memon added. "The passengers in cabs seemed nervous, heading to airports and railway stations, stuck alongside. It was a terrible experience. There was no one regulating the traffic," he further explained.

Abdul Rehman, who operates a stable in Nalasopara and commutes daily to Mumbai carrying milk, said, "The service road is littered with garbage, potholes, and other issues, forcing us to either slow down or get stuck. This problem started on Thursday, doubling the time it takes for me to reach Mumbai. I fear the milk might spoil as we lack refrigeration while transporting it," he added.

MBVV police senior officials fear that the heavy traffic jams on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway could escalate into law and order issues

Another stable owner, Mahesh Kumar Joshi, said, "Milk has a shelf life of only three hours. If it's not refrigerated or boiled in time, it spoils. We faced this issue as the journey from Nalasopara to Mumbai took longer than expected." "I incurred a loss of Rs 12,000 as my vehicle couldn't deliver the milk container on time in Mumbai. People like us are ignored and left to suffer in traffic jams. Many tabela owners have suffered losses in the last two days. This is just the beginning, and we're uncertain when this concreting work will end and relieve this traffic chaos," Joshi said.

Meeting on Saturday

To resolve the NOC dispute between NHAI-appointed contractor and MBVV police, parliamentarian Rajendra Gavit has called for a meeting at the MBVV police commissioner's office on Saturday, expecting participation from police, NHAI officials, and the contractor. Sharma said, "During this period, we may need to temporarily halt or slow down our work."

Transporter Harbans Singh Nanade from All India Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangh raised concerns about the ongoing white topping work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, questioning the absence of repairs to the service lane for smoother vehicular movement. Singh said, "Ideally, the service road should have been repaired before blocking the highway lanes. The contractor's negligence has resulted in a complete choke on the main carriageway."

Traffic cops manning the traffic. Pics/Hanif Patel

"The southbound traffic on the highway has been disrupted since Wednesday afternoon. A truck driver reportedly is taking seven to eight hours at night to cover a three-kilometre stretch from Khaniwade toll naka to Fountain junction," he added. Dahanu-based advocate Mahesh Champanerkar, stuck in traffic with a group of 17 people in a bus, highlighted a 3.5-hour ordeal to cover a three-kilometre stretch on Thursday. Inspector Ingole recommended using the Naigaon bridge for travel from Vasai to Mumbai as an alternative to Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.

Project to complete in Apr 2024

The ongoing white topping project by the NHAI on the 121-km-long, six-lane bituminous carriageway aims to be completed by April next year, costing Rs 553 crore. The project includes the construction of 10-ft overbridges (FOBs) and three vehicular underpasses (VUPs) at accident-prone areas like Sativalli, Delhi Darbar, and Pandirangwadi.

The urgency for highway improvements arose from Cyrus Mistry's fatal accident. After his accident mid-day highlighted the road design errors and other shortcomings, that prompted temporary changes by the NHAI, like signboard installations, road markings, and improved lighting. Despite these accidents persisted, resulting in approximately 144 casualties on the NH-48 highway last year alone, as reported.

Apr 2024
Month the white topping work will be completed

3 hours
Time taken to cross three kms