While the first phase of the country’s first monorail between Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle crawls towards finish line, work for the second phase is posing problems for residents of Saat Rasta, NM Joshi Marg, Sane Guruji Marg and Comrade Ganacharya Chowk.
Shop owners on NM Joshi Marg said barricades have been put up haphazardly.
“They have unnecessarily barricaded huge areas of the road leaving only two lanes on each side for vehicles. This results in chaos during peak hours. This is a densely populated residential area and the barricades should be built properly,” said Gulabrao Shinde, a resident.
DNA reader Yash Jain echoed the complaints through an email.
“I have a shop near Santoshi Mata Mandir. Workers have been occupying the space in our vicinity for the past 45 days. However, there is hardly any work happening,” he said.
The agencies and contractors have occupied most of the road. “Small accidents have become a regular feature in this area and the lives of pedestrians are in danger,” said Jain in a letter to DNA.
When DNA visited the site on Sane Guruji Marg, it found that the barricades were not placed properly. While there were barricades on the road side, the footpaths were not adequately covered.
NM Joshi Marg was no different. The fencing was unnecessarily wide and electronic meters were left open, posing safety issues. The barricades had gaps at many places.
The labourers and contractors said motorists needed the openings to take a turn. No security guard was seen in the open areas. Some pits do not have a protection wall.
In spite of repeated attempts, officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which is constructing the 22-km monorail, were not available for comment. An official requesting anonymity said such issues were “common” during construction of infrastructure projects.
“People staying on the alignment of Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro are also suffering. The residents need to be patient and careful,” said the official.
