BMC wants to turn Octroi nakas into truck terminus

After the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax from July 1, five Octroi nakas in Mumbai — Mankhurd, Dahisar, Airoli and two Mulund nakas are lying unused. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now exploring various options to use these check posts to set up passenger stations, truck terminus, trauma centres or security posts. Last month, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Dr Sanjay Mukherjee and Director of Engineering of BMC, Vinod Chithore visited Ahmedabad to understand what the Octroi nakas are being used for, post GST, a senior civic officer said.

Speaking to DNA, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta confirmed, "The five entry points are very useful from the logistics point of view for the city. We are exploring options such as setting up passenger stations there. Big cities have a station where the inter-city buses halt. Their route ends at the entry points. The passengers can then take local buses from the entry points and travel to reach their destination in the city. This is very well-executed by Ahmedabad and even Delhi. During the Development Plan discussion, the suggestion to set up trauma care centres or truck stations came up, so as to avoid big trucks from entering the city."

Since, the closure of the Octroi posts, trucks get free access to the city through the five check nakas. Due to this, security has become a big concern. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray during the first GST cheque-handing over event in the corporation house expressed that security is the main concern as heavy vehicles get free access. He also suggested that the Octroi nakas should be used as security check points. Following this, the civic body said that it will soon decide on the usage of the entry points.