In a move to unravel traffic knots, Dahisar toll plaza could be moved further towards Mira Road, where the octroi naka used to be.
Local residents have long sought the shifting of the toll booth because its current location ends up causing massive traffic snarls on the Western Express Highway, while also pinching pockets of those who stay close by but still must pay toll to cross over.
MP Gopal Shetty, who represents Mumbai North where Dahisar falls, told DNA the issue was on his priority list.
"I am confident that by Diwali, the toll plaza will be shifted further to the old octroi naka, which will bring a huge respite to several people in Dahisar and Borivali. I have been constantly following up on this issue for the past few months," he said.
Shetty said he had a detailed discussion with road minister Nitin Gadkari. "He clearly told me that if it was in his hands, he would have done it immediately. But it is up to the state government. I will be soon meeting revenue minister Chandrakant Patil to get the work of shifting the toll plaza completed," he said.
Elected representatives from Mira Road and Bhayandar have taken up cudgels over for the issue, with state elections just around the corner. Recently, images featuring former Mira-Bhayandar mayor Geeta Jain which declared that the toll plaza would soon be ouside the city limits went viral. They meant to convey that even residents of Mira-Bhayandar corporation would not have to pay a toll.
"There is a demand to place the toll plaza on Ghodbunder Road in Thane where work on a new flyover and road widening is being carried out. This way, only those moving towards Thane or taking the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway would be required to pay the toll," said a BJP leader from Mira Road.
As of now, it is just demand and nothing has been finalised yet, but a few leaders are making it look like this is a done deal, he said.
Shetty said he was unaware of any plans to shift the toll naka to Ghodbunder. "But if leaders from Mira-Bhayandar want that, I'd certainly support the demand."
Some 4,000-5,000 vehicles cross the toll naka every hour on the average. Of late, it has been taking residents 15-20 minutes just to make it to the the other side of the gate. During peak hours and weekends, snarls extend beyond Gokul Anand flyover.
A senior traffic official said long jams at the naka have become a norm. "It's unmanageable. We tried different methods to resolve snarls but nothing seems to work. The flyover built right at the mouth of the toll naka at the Dahisar end was one of the worst decisions," he said.
It’s taking a toll
- Rs 115 cr Annual collection at Dahisar toll naka
- 4,000-5,000 Number of vehicles going though the gate per hour on an average
- 28% Share of vehicles entering city via the plaza (in 2008)
“The Dahisar toll plaza has to be moved from its current location as its now a nightmare. As doctors, there have been so many instances where both my wife and me have to rush to attend emergency cases and at times we are stuck in traffic for over 20 minutes just because the toll plaza. Apart from this one also has to take into acount how much precious fuel, which is extremely costly as well as the man hours, which were being wasted due to the traffic mismanagement", said Dr. Arpit Dave, a resident of Dahisar.
