A majority of Mumbaikars are dreading to think about the traffic conditions on roads this monsoon, especially with the ongoing Metro work. Currently, there is metro rail work underway in South Mumbai and the eastern and western suburbs. A recent study done by an international transport organisation states that Mumbai is the most congested in the world at 65 per cent, mainly due to the ongoing infrastructure work.
"The situation is already pathetic due to the ongoing metro work. It will worsen with the rains. There will be waterlogging. The roads have become uneven which will lead to traffic snarls," said J Shah, resident of Powai.
Over there, there are projects of Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to Vikhroli) is connecting both eastern and western suburbs. Locals have requested the authorities to think of underground metro network instead of elevated.
"There are several areas along JVLR that has been affected by work on metro rail. It will only worsen with the rains," said N Bhalla, a resident of Siddharth Colony. Nearly 100 residents across Mumbai recently complained to the MMRDA about the problems caused by Metro work.
The BMC, MMRDA and Railways had come together to discuss monsoon preparedness. Sources said that the BMC and MMRDA had discussed about the probable waterlogging spots caused due to metro work. "The local ward officers were asked to get data of chronic spots," said an official.
The road traffic on Link Road on western suburbs and the Western Express Highway too are affected due to the ongoing work of Metro 7 (Andheri East to Dahisar East), Metro 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar), and the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz metro line which is expected to be ready by 2021. "The western suburbs is most-affected by the Metro work. For instance, Andheri will be connected by 3-4 different metro rail lines. Most of the main roads are covered by barricades and traffic will worsen in rains," said D Shah, a resident of Lokhandwala.
Meanwhile MMRC and MMRDA claim that there would not be any water logging. "Wherever pile caps and foundation are complete, there would not be much problem of water logging. The storm water drains are on the sides so it will not affect the drainage systems," said an MMRDA official.
Men at Wreck
- Study claims Mumbai is the most congested in the world at 65%, mainly due to infrastructure work
- MMRC has installed 338 pumps across the 27 spots where work on Metro-3 is in progress.
