A planned ward but no solution yet to tackle traffic jams

Overview

T ward is one of the better planned wards in the city and occupies 45.42 sq km stretching upto the National Park. It comprises areas such as Topiwala College, ESIS Hospital, Palm Acres, Vihar Lake, MHADA Buildings, Mulund Colony, Sarvoday Nagar, Nahur Village, Mulund Central, Nane Pada, Gavan Pada, Kelkar College and Mulund Check Naka. T Ward used to have a number of industrial units, especially pharmaceutical units, but a majority of them have been shifted out of Mulund. There has been a substantial rise in property prices in the ward over the past decade. A number of educational institutions and hospitals are also present in the ward.  

The ward is now, however, plagued by encroachment on footpaths by hawkers and shops. The ward has a network of relatively wide roads. But, over a period, there has been a rise in population, which adds to congestion on the existing roads. In Mulund (west), there are major traffic snarls from Subhash Chandra road to the police station. The stretch from Mulund Colony to Mulund railway station also sees regular traffic jams. Traffic congestion near Mulund railway station is another major issue, with residents attributing it to encroachment and illegal parking. Some activists say repair work started by the civic body two years ago are yet to be completed.

Political Scenario

BJP has an edge in this ward as it holds both MP and MLA seats apart from four corporation seats. Kirit Somaya is an MP from Mulund while Sardar Tara Singh represents the Mulund assembly seat. However, post delimitation, the boundaries of the electoral wards will change and political parties will have to make an extra effort to woo voters. Post delimitation, BJP will face a new challenge as four seats of S ward, where it had little presence, will now fall in T ward.  

Prior to delimitation, majority of the population in T ward was literate.  However, post delimitation, the scenario has changed. With the number of literate voters coming down drastically, political observers feel that sitting corporators will have a tough time convincing new voters. Political parties and their candidates have to make renewed efforts with ground work. At present, BJP has four corporators out of six in T ward, while MNS and NCP have one each. There is no reservation and the number of electoral seats remain six in the ward.

issues

BMC has decided to close the Mulund dumping ground following a High Court order. Due to frequent fires at Mulund dumping ground, residents were forced to leave their homes due to excessive smoke leading to breathing, skin and eye problems early this year.

Hawkers encroachment near railway station causes problems to pedestrians. Road widening needs to be undertake to ease traffic snarls. Residents have demanded action in the past against encroachment on footpath and marginal space.

Pathetic condition of roads slow down traffic movement. Motorists struggle to ride due to the presence of uneven roads in the ward 

Frequent civic work especially on footpath also irk residents. Paver blocks are removed from the footpath and left for several days in the open.

Residents speak

Over a period of time, population has increased but infrastructure has been the same. A number of housing towers are being constructed. The civic body has not done enough to widen the roads. The current roads do not have the capacity to take the load of existing vehicles, and will not sustain for too long. This will be a  difficult task for the civic body to overcome. 
—Murli Attili, Resident of Mulund 

In the last five years, there has not been much work done in the ward. But now ahead of elections, work across the ward is being carried out. This is nothing but a wastage of public money. There are places where prior work has not been completed and a new project is already underway.
—Nishu Prasad, Resident of Mulund

The official word

Assistant Municipal Commissioner of T ward, Prashant Sakpale says, “We have undertaken road widening work to prevent traffic congestion across the ward and to some extent we have succeeded.” Sakpale said that the major issue of the ward was the entry point to the ward. “We are in touch with housing societies to encourage them for segregation of waste at source and so far 40 housing societies have come forward ,” said Sakaple, adding that the civic body is striving hard to get rid of bins. 
T ward is the first ward in BMC to function without bins. Sakpale claimed that the ward did not face water logging issues during this monsoon. According to him, they are working to make the ward traffic free and looking into encroachment on footpaths and hawker menace if there is any.