MUMBAI: Bandrathe queen of suburbs, is currently grappling with several arterial roads and bylanes undergoing extensive infrastructure development. As December unfolds and Christmas festivities draw near, the locality, famous for its churches and bustling shopping spots such as Hill Road, is seeing a surge in crowds amid ongoing infrastructure works, inconveniencing local residents.
Arterial roads which have been dug up include parts of Hill Road, Manuel Gonsalves Road and St Andrew’s Road and those witnessing some infrastructure upgrade works are Waterfield Road (Patkar Road), St Martins Road and Pali Mala Road. The works include road concretisation, laying of storm water drains, gas pipelines and other utility lines.
Local BJP MLA Ashish Shelar said he is aware that citizens are facing hardships and around two weeks ago he had a meeting with traffic and civic teams. “I requested officials to ensure that traffic is managed smoothly and work is carried out in a phased manner. I also request citizens to understand that these works are being taken up for improving the area in the long run. Bandra is witnessing the most development works currently, so some short-term difficulty could be witnessed,” said Shelar.
Marie Paul, Bandra resident and former chairman of D’Monte Park ALM, said the problem is that multiple arterial roads have been dug up at the same time, making commute difficult.
Citizen activist Vidya Vaidya said this is not an example of good planning as “Bandra is a small suburb and during the Christmas month even larger crowds flock to the area. The authorities could have planned better than digging up roads at the same time.”
Trivan Karnani, a lawyer by profession and spokesperson of the social media X handle @MNCDFBombay, a citizens welfare forum, said they have been witnessing a series of complaints from hassled motorists.
Himself a Bandra resident, Karnani said he has stopped driving and prefers taking an autorickshaw. “As arterial roads are dug up, motorists are getting into bylanes to reach their destination. The otherwise quaint lanes are witnessing continuous honking,” he said.
BMC officials said from October, after monsoon withdraws, they can take up works which go on till the monsoon month of June the following year. “We are taking efforts to ensure motorists are not inconvenienced and the roads are not blocked completely,” said a civic official. Former Bandra corporator Asif Zakaria said while an unprecedented number of works are being taken up in Bandra, roads are blocked at only a few places. “At sites where concrete roads are being laid it is essential that utility lines are placed below, as digging up these roads repeatedly is difficult. Therefore, these works take longer,” said Zakaria.
Some residents, though, said authorities should have given priority to those road works that witness larger public movement during Christmas. Lilian Paes, a resident, said authorities could have also considered publishing a list of roads it plans to take up for repairs, the period and diversions that motorists can take. “Unaware motorists end up reaching barricaded roads.”
Arterial roads which have been dug up include parts of Hill Road, Manuel Gonsalves Road and St Andrew’s Road and those witnessing some infrastructure upgrade works are Waterfield Road (Patkar Road), St Martins Road and Pali Mala Road. The works include road concretisation, laying of storm water drains, gas pipelines and other utility lines.
Local BJP MLA Ashish Shelar said he is aware that citizens are facing hardships and around two weeks ago he had a meeting with traffic and civic teams. “I requested officials to ensure that traffic is managed smoothly and work is carried out in a phased manner. I also request citizens to understand that these works are being taken up for improving the area in the long run. Bandra is witnessing the most development works currently, so some short-term difficulty could be witnessed,” said Shelar.
Marie Paul, Bandra resident and former chairman of D’Monte Park ALM, said the problem is that multiple arterial roads have been dug up at the same time, making commute difficult.
Citizen activist Vidya Vaidya said this is not an example of good planning as “Bandra is a small suburb and during the Christmas month even larger crowds flock to the area. The authorities could have planned better than digging up roads at the same time.”
Trivan Karnani, a lawyer by profession and spokesperson of the social media X handle @MNCDFBombay, a citizens welfare forum, said they have been witnessing a series of complaints from hassled motorists.
Himself a Bandra resident, Karnani said he has stopped driving and prefers taking an autorickshaw. “As arterial roads are dug up, motorists are getting into bylanes to reach their destination. The otherwise quaint lanes are witnessing continuous honking,” he said.
BMC officials said from October, after monsoon withdraws, they can take up works which go on till the monsoon month of June the following year. “We are taking efforts to ensure motorists are not inconvenienced and the roads are not blocked completely,” said a civic official. Former Bandra corporator Asif Zakaria said while an unprecedented number of works are being taken up in Bandra, roads are blocked at only a few places. “At sites where concrete roads are being laid it is essential that utility lines are placed below, as digging up these roads repeatedly is difficult. Therefore, these works take longer,” said Zakaria.
Some residents, though, said authorities should have given priority to those road works that witness larger public movement during Christmas. Lilian Paes, a resident, said authorities could have also considered publishing a list of roads it plans to take up for repairs, the period and diversions that motorists can take. “Unaware motorists end up reaching barricaded roads.”
