Road beneath Mumbai metro continues to be a nightmare

Motorists travelling on Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road (AGLR) will continue to suffer during monsoon due to the poor condition of roads below the metro rail corridor. Moreover, a fraction of work is pending at a metro station. "For a year now, no patch-up work or resurfacing of the road has been done by the authorities concerned. Even now, when monsoon is all set to arrive, there is no sign of road repair works," said Jaidev Rathod, a regular motorist on AGLR.

Last year, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had invited bids to carry out repair work on AGLR as well as lay a new road at Jagruti Nagar, but the work is yet to be completed.

Moreover, the paver blocks or interlocking tiles on AGLR too are uneven, as good as patches riddled with potholes. Even these need to be redone for a better ride during monsoon. The condition of Mathuradas Vassanji Road is no better and needs extensive repair work, which is unlikely to happen prior to monsoon. "We are carrying out road repairs at AGLR, it will be completed before monsoon," said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director, public relations of MMRDA.

The saving grace is only for motorists and residents of Andheri west as the development authority has completed re-laying of damaged portions of the road along JP Road, which is also a metro rail route.

For the last couple of years, Mumbaikars have demanding better roads from MMRDA to reduce their travelling woes (commuting delays and wastage of precious fossil fuels). "One escalator and one lift are yet to be installed at Jagruti Nagar metro station and it should be in place during the coming weeks. This doesn't mean the station won't be opened for public use. There are staircases available for entry and exit," said Bharat Bhushan Modgil, project director, Mumbai Metro.