Heavy traffic, pollution irk Juhu locals following sewage line collapse

An erstwhile green and peaceful Juhu locality has turned all dull and dusty, for over a month now. What's responsible for that is only a small trench on one of its prominent roads.

Located bang opposite actor Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow Jalsa on the VL Mehta road, the six feet long and four feet wide barricade around the trench, has covered more than half the arterial road's width. This has triggered heavy traffic congestion in the area, which stretches up to the JVPD junction – already ill-reputed for its nasty traffic problems. The junction connects Mumbai to its northern suburbs.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had dug up the road last month to repair a ruptured sewage line, but has failed to restore it.

The BMC had taken up repairs of the sewage line on an emergency basis after it received several complaints of heavy stench following its collapse. The area, home to many Bollywood celebrities, has been engulfed by the stench for nearly a fortnight now.

Mehjabeen Barwani, a citizen activist who stays close to the area said: "We don't know what is taking the BMC so long to complete the work. The barricaded zone has covered half the main road, making it narrow. That is affecting the south-north traffic flow, which only leads to more noise and honking."

Coupled with other minor dug-up roads across the area and public buses from the nearby bus depot, the excessive traffic is spewing up copious amounts of smoke every day, Juhu residents complained.

Talking to dna, one of the security guards stationed outside Jalsa said that ever since the work started, the entire stretch of the road sees thousands of cars stuck because of traffic. "The hot smoke from the vehicles hits our face. But what can we do?" he asked.

The guard informed that daily, around 200 people gather outside Jalsa, with the faint hope of spotting the actor. "On Sunday, if sir is there, he comes out for a couple of minutes to wave at the public. As a result, every Sunday evening, 500 people are present here on an average to see him," he said. Needless to say, the crowd and the vehicles only quadruple then.

The JVPD junction, where five different roads meet, is one of the most congested in the city. To deal with the problem, the BMC has planned to construct a multi-armed flyover at the junction, at an estimated cost of Rs90 crore, work on which will start post monsoon. One of the arms will be connected to the upcoming coastal road.

Dr Sindhu Daftary, another Juhu resident, said: "Only after they clear the area, we can assess if the road has been levelled properly. If not, the traffic situation will not improve." She said she has been complaining to the authorities about choked sewage lines and reverse flow of sewage, for a long time, but the civic authorities are yet to take it seriously.

Vijay Dhatrak, senior traffic police inspector of the area, however, said that the traffic is still manageable, but the BMC 'should finish the work faster', seeing as the road has become narrow.

Colonel AK Tiwari, a road expert based in Gurgaon, said: "Once the sewage line is repaired, which usually takes three to four days, it should not take more than two days to fill up the trench and lay the road."

Assistant municipal commissioner of K west ward Parag Masurkar said the sewerage operation department of the BMC was carrying out the repair work, which got done four days ago. "The barricades will be opened and the road will be restored within days," he said.