Continuing their tirade against authorities' apathy towards their problems, over 200 Thane residents formed a human chain on Tuesday morning. The residents came together to protest against bad roads, potholes, delayed Kopri bridge and other such issues which have made living in Thane a hell hole.
At around 8 am on September 4, over 200 Thanekars held hands to form a human chain against civic apathy in the city. "Over 60000 motorists from Thane drive down to Mumbai and back daily. But due to potholes, bad roads, etc., this drive has become tiresome," says Kasber Augustine, president of Thane citizens foundation (TCF) who organised the human chain on Tuesday. "It takes 35 to 45 minutes to drive from Anandnagar Mulund toll naka to Kopri due to congestion," says he.
Though the civic administration and other authorities tried to offer a solution right from overnight road repairs to one-month toll waiver, it has failed to resolve these problems. "Hence, to press upon them the urgency of this situation, we thought of having a human chain today," says he.
To participate in this chain many office goers either bunked office or took permission from the companies/organisations they work for. "This issue needs to be addressed immediately and took an off today to take part in this human chain," says Ranjit Bhise, a Thanekar.
Another resident, Rene Varghese, said, "Spending two hours daily morning and evening in traffic with unaccountable potholes leads to stress, frustration, and wastage of fuel," says Varghese. If this drive can open the eyes of various stakeholders who are responsible for the development of Thane, then it will be a welcome change."
The peaceful human chain was formed for an hour after which the motorists proceeded to their destinations, but TCF says that they will continue to come up with such peaceful demonstrations till their demands our met. "We already have an online petition signed by over 10,000 Thanekars for a better Thane which we will hand over to our chief minister whom we are going to meet this week," says Augustine. "Our demand is for quality work and permanent solutions to our problems and not temporary patchwork. Till we get that we will continue to voice our displeasure," he adds.
When contacted DCP Amit Kale - Thane traffic police said that they are continuing to work towards easing congestion in Thane. "We are using a strategy of traffic diversions and not allowing heavy vehicles during peak hours in the city. In the last six to seven days we have got calls from the public who have appreciated our efforts. They say that the traffic situation has improved since the blinkers on the campaign," says Kale.
