It has been four months after the monsoon got over, but the public works department (PWD) is yet to fix the caved-in stretch at a busy junction near Airoli check naka on Eastern Express Highway.
The signal at the naka sees heavy traffic on a regular basis given the vehicles from Thane, Mulund and other parts of the city pass from it. But the residents complain that department has not paid any attention towards the problem ever since the road caved in prior to the advent of the rainy season last year.
“It is a crucial road from the vehicular movement point of view. But it is left in this state for quite some time now. While the stretch lay caved in, authorities laid pipelines beneath it at least thrice making it an uneven patch,” said Ravindra Chavan, a resident of Mulund who takes the road to work daily.
The pathetic state of the road has led to motorists jumping signals, and thus making it an accident-prone area, especially during peak hours.
Traffic cops posted at the check naka have claimed that there has been no accident till now. “During rush hours, the noise level becomes deafening as scores of heavy vehicles pass bumping on the road. The senior traffic officials have requested the department to look into the matter but it remains unattended,” a traffic personnel said, not wishing to be named.
When contacted, PWD officials said no repair work on the stretch could be undertaken since there was no sanctioning from the higher authorities. RK Jawanjal, an executive engineer with the department, blamed the election code of conduct in force for the delay in getting approval.
“We have prepared a tender in this regard. We are just waiting for the electoral process to get over and the maintenance of the road will be done,” Jawanjal said and added that the road will be repaired with the help of paver blocks.
On the question why paver blocks and not a long-term solution, the senior official said, “The road, barring the 10-12 per cent patch where maintenance is needed, is mostly concretised. So, we are using paver blocks in only minor parts.”BMC officials could not be reached for their versions.
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