Upscale malls, commercial spaces and residential high-rises, where house prices reach dizzying heights, have been the most distinctive features of Parel's transformation from mill hub to a coveted address.

With that boom though has come traffic, with infrastructure struggling to keep up with the burgeoning numbers of vehicles and people. Now, the closure of the Lower Parel bridge has added to the bottlenecks. Parel is in a stranglehold, quite literally, with the vice-like grip set to tighten in the coming days. Residents in high rises from Parel, Lower Parel, Mahalaxmi and Bombay Central are watching the impending festive season with trepidation.