Vile Parle residents rile against skywalk along station road

Usually the construction of a public utility is greeted with cheer and optimism, but the pedestrian overground link between the station area and SV Road is causing
inconvenience to residents and traders in the area, DNA reports .

Vile Parle located in the western suburbs in Mumbai, is home to many educational institutions. The station road is buzzing with youngsters who use the path to crossover to the western side, where their learning institutes are located.

The D Joshi Road outside the station, supposed to be a non-hawking zone, has numerous illegal vendors on both sides of the road that it almost seems like a vegetable market. The road is the one of the main link between the station and the arterial SV Road.

Along with encroachments cropping up in the area, telephone lines as well as sewage lines have been damaged causing trouble to local residents.

It is difficult to bring private vehicles in the vicinity. Some taxis and auto drivers also refuse to ply passengers right upto the station precincts. Residents are expressing doubts about the utility of the skywalk, which was to extend upto Cooper Hospital. In its current form, the skywalk will extend till SV Road, adding to fears that it will crowd the already congested motorway.

Civic amenities

Locals allege that the construction of the skywalk is being done in a haphazard fashion and it’s inconveniencing railway passengers
Tarun S says, “The construction of the skywalk is done in a unsystematic manner. The agency could have taken up the excavation in parts. Walking to college is difficult with half the road being occupied by the hawkers.”
Reeta Soni says, “The station area is in a mess. Autos drivers can't go till the station area to drop passengers. Even the commute, from that point till the station is not comfortable, illegal vendors have occupied the remnant of the road."
Bhavin Jain says, “The construction of the skywalk to decongest the station area may not be the perfect solution to the problem. I personally feel that there is no need for a skywalk in this area.”

Governance

The building of the skywalk has affected utility services like piped cooking gas and electricity connections and there is little reassurance from the authorities 
Vineet Choradia says, “I welcome the idea of a skywalk. But in the new layout it will extend upto SV Road, adding to congestion there. The construction work has affected telephone lines. I'm not sure if they will finish it by the stipulated deadline.”
Pravin Mehta says “It doesn't make sense to construct a skywalk on a 40 feet road. The authorities should have conducted a survey, to find out if the skywalk will really solve the problem.” 
Lasika K, says, “There are intermittent power cuts due to the construction work in the area, the summer aggravates the situation. Piped cooking gas lines have been affected. A subway would have served the purpose.” 

Livelihood

Speed of the construction work is affecting trading activity of commercial establishments in the market area
Jagdish Sharma says, “The skywalk may be beneficial but presently it is creating an annoyance. Firstly D J road is quite narrow and owing to the public work has got chocked. The number of customers coming to our shop has declined.”
Ramesh Mhatre says, “The authorities should have taken the people of the area into confidence. We got little notice and were not well informed about the status of the work. Parking has become difficult which causes inconvenience to my customers.” 
Ketan Gada says, “Who is going to cross through the rubble and come to my shop? This stretch of road is supposed to be a non-hawking zone, but is perennially occupied with them. The authorities must look for a simple solution to the problem.”

Anand Pahal,
Additional chief engineer, MMRDA
“The station road at Vile Parle, is narrow but we have to bear inconvenience. Some hassles will be caused in the initial stages but later, the construction won't cause much trouble. We had a meeting with the shopkeepers  and addressed their issues and concerns. The date of completion is October 2009 and we will complete it before the deadline.”

T L Gade
Executive engineer, MSRDC
“We are trying our best to complete the project on time. The rehabilitation of vendors is not our problem. We are ensuring that the construction of the skywalk is done on a war-footing and monitoring the project. We have received complaints from locals and we have taken measures to mitigate the irritation and avoid any mishaps.”

Jayanti Siroya
Municipal corporator
“Almost one lakh people use the DJ Road. People had demanded for a skywalk. The link will benefit students as well. We take action against illegal hawkers but they appear on the roads again. BMC authorities need to be more stringent. Presently, in the first phase, the skywalk will be upto SV Road, but later, as planned it will extend to Cooper Hospital.”

Anil Khoje
Assistant commissioner, K / West ward
I’m aware that the sewage pipeline is broken on DJ Road and it's causing inconvenience to people. We have given a written notice to the contractor working on the project. We have taken action against the illegal vendors but they tend to come back again.”