Blame game begins: BMC blasts the traffic police

The blame game has begun over the traffic snarls at the Haji Ali junction. A day after the traffic police blamed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the traffic woes; the civic body has shot back.

Corporation officials claim that the traffic snarls are because of the traffic diversion of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and not due to their own works. 

The BMC’s road development department has also alleged that the traffic police are trying to divert attention from the series of accidents on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and thus are blaming the civic body for the traffic mess at the Haji Ali junction.

DNA on Tuesday had reported the plight of commuters at the Haji Ali junction because of the BMC’s road and drainage work. Following the report, additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev has written to the joint commissioner of police (traffic) Sanjay Barve and expressed his dissatisfaction about the traffic police blaming the BMC for the traffic snarls at the Haji Ali junction.

“I would like to remind you that when you took the decision to divert the traffic at Haji Ali junction and give them a U-turn on Lala Lajpatrai Rd for going to Keshavrao Khadye Marg and Tardeo, we had opposed the idea,” Rajeev’s letter to Barve said. “During the meeting our consultants (Ashok Datar and Rahul Dandekar) were also present, who had not agreed on the diversion. But your department went ahead with it.”

Rajeev also urged the traffic department to work in co-ordination with the civic body instead of getting into a blame game.