City of dreams stuck in jam

The Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Amitesh Kumar said that excavation work in different parts of the city has been affecting vehicular traffic and has led to congestion at several spots. "Average vehicular speed has come down to at least 15-20 kmph. It might not be the exact figure, but traffic across the city is moving really slow. We have deployed our staff and officers at places so that nothing goes out of control."

Kumar said the city's traffic police is corresponding with the municipal authorities to keep an eye on the progress of developmental projects as barricades put up for such work lead to congestion. With regard to haphazard parking, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had brought in a parking policy. However, the pilot project failed in South Mumbai. According to the civic body, there are 91 on-street parking and 47 off-street parking spaces in Mumbai. In both of these places, only 20,000 vehicles can be parked. In order to end parking woes in the city, the BMC has set up the Mumbai Parking Authority which is a first of its kind administrative body formed by a civic body. The body will regulate parking charges, develop norms for on-street parking, and create a record of parking spaces across the city using Geographic Information System mapping.