The ball’s finally begun to roll on projects on east-west connectivity links in Mumbai, which have been stuck for years now.
The ball’s finally begun to roll on projects on east-west connectivity links in Mumbai, which have been stuck for years now.
For six years, every motorist passing through the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) went through the emotions of frustration, anger, dejection and abject apathy — in that order. The 12-lane road narrowed over the railway lines into four lanes, leading to chock-a-block traffic, and waste of manhours and fuel.
But Sunday changed it all. At 1.35am, the Central Railway stopped all trains on that route to facilitate the placing of the first three girders of a bridge over the tracks.
Ditto was the progress on the express road connecting Santa Cruz and Chembur. The railways granted permission to build bridges over the rail lines and a large Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) building was finally demolished.
Both these projects are funded by the World Bank.
Work on the controversial Kopri bridge in Thane also received a formal nod.
Central Railway general manager Subodh Kumar Jain has assured of complete co-operation to all local bodies and corporations in getting the wheels moving on these projects. “’The railways do not want to block the city’s growth. I will ensure that there is proper co-ordination with all local agencies,’’ Jain said at his first press conference.
With citizens of these localities protesting against the delay, DNA had run a campaign on the stuck JVLR project and the stranded east-west connectivity over railway lines.
“It is a victory of the citizens and the campaign. The project was stuck for several years and it takes more than half-an-hour to cross this small stretch,” said Vinod Sharma, who launched a citizens’ campaign. Harassed by the problem, regular motorists and citizens, including those from upmarket Powai complexes, IT professionals and office-goers, led by Sharma, had chalked out an innovative campaign, involving posters, a walkathon, a nukkad natak and even a Facebook group, to garner support to bring the attention of the authorities.
“It is good news. The Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) is the most delayed project. One building was demolished last week, one still remains,” said Jitendra Gupta, who had begun the push for the SCLR. Gupta had led citizens in Kurla in walking the entire bridge’s length and document the incomplete project work.
‘’The Central Railway had stopped trains between 1.35am and 4.35am. Both the works, the one at Thane and the other at Vikhroli, were completed partially last night. Work will continue over the next few weekends,” said a site engineer.
Work at Vikhroli was delayed because the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation was not able to get the specifications right. They wasted a railway block last week as they were not able to take up the scheduled work.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}