"We are planning a complete ban on heavy vehicles from 5pm to 10pm on the Aarey road from both Powai as well as Goregaon ends and this is being done to ease traffic jams," Aarey CEO
With the traffic condition on Aarey road going from bad to worse, the Dairy Development Department is mulling a ban on heavy vehicles there during peak evening hours. It is also planning to meet the traffic officials asking for deployment of police personnel for strict implementation of road rules so as to bring relief to motorists taking this road.
"We are planning a complete ban on heavy vehicles from 5pm to 10pm on the Aarey road from both Powai as well as Goregaon ends and this is being done to ease traffic jams that are behind pile-ups on the Aarey main road. We have initiated installing boards; it will be implemented after Ganesh Utsav," said Gajanan Raut, Aarey CEO, adding this will not be applicable to BEST buses or heavy vehicles on emergency duty. Estimates state that on an average around 25,000 vehicles use the eight-kilometre road connecting Goregaon on the Western Express Highway end and Powai at the other end.
Apart from this there is also a road leading to Marol that witnesses heavy traffic. According to Aarey officials, the traffic situation is worse in morning and evening hours. "Evening situation is even more pathetic, with stranded vehicles spitting smoke and people honking incessantly," said an official. Raut said apart from this they also plan to have a detailed meeting with the senior traffic officials in a couple of days to request for additional deployment of staff at important junctions like Panchvati, VIP bungalow and Marol.
He said apart from the main road, some internal Aarey roads are also turning a cause of concern. "Due to heavy traffic congestion, several motorists divert to internal roads and speed on them. Naturalists visiting Aarey are complaining to us of reptiles getting crushed under the wheels of speeding vehicles. So there will be a clamp down on vehicle movement on internal stretches inside Aarey also," said Raut. Ashima Chaudhuri, a resident of Royal Palms who daily drives to Khar, said the situation is only getting worse with every passing day. "For the past two months, I have been completely avoiding taking the Western Express Highway towards Goregaon all I see is vehicles lined up all the way from Panchavati junction to highway. I now use a different route from Marol side and reach highway from Santacruz side," she said adding one of the biggest reason for traffic mess at Aarey is that no traffic cop can ever be seen manning this road and even the police officials posted at beat chowky never bother to clear traffic jams.
Niraj Salvi, a marketing executive who regularly commutes from Goregaon to Powai and back, says the move is welcome. "It takes almost over an hour in evening to cover 8-km Powai-Goregaon stretch. Some days the congestion is such that vehicles don't even move an inch for over 20 minutes and there will be no traffic cop present to clear the traffic jam."
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 "Aarey Mumbai")
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