Metro+hawkers = elevated woes…….Sobiya Moghul
With ongoing transport project and no space on footpath, life is hell for pedestrians on 200-metre stretch of Andheri-Kurla Rd
With ongoing transport project and no space on footpath, life is hell for pedestrians on 200-metre stretch of Andheri-Kurla Rd
Its a double whammy for pedestrians on this 200-metre stretch of Andheri-Kurla Road. If the inconvenience due to the ongoing Metro work wasnt enough, they find the footpath completely occupied by hawkers and illegal stalls. Travelling on the road during peak hours has become a nightmarish experience.
Residents allege that despite repeated complaints to BMC and MMRDA, nothing has been done so far. From 9 am to 12 noon and from 5 to 9.30 pm, people can barely walk on this road as hawkers block the entire footpath.
We have been requesting the officials to clear the footpath but both BMC and MMRDA are busy passing the buck rather than addressing the issue, said Makrand Waingankar, a sports journalist and resident of Andheri east.
Mumbai Mirror visited the stretch on Friday. One half of the 15-foot-wide road is blocked for Metro work while the footpath has been encroached upon by hawkers and stalls.
As a result, pedestrians, vehicles use the same portion of the road. The situation goes bad in the evening with large number of people on road blocking the movement of BEST and private buses.
The worst affected are the people residing in the area. Due to excessive traffic, we have even stopped going to the temple which is just two minutes away from the road.
We, in fact, avoid guests as they have to park their cars far away. The situation is very unpleasant, said Dr D V Dagli, a resident of Kanyakumari Housing society.
Open manholes along the road are adding to the woes of motorists and pedestrians. Pointing to one of them, shopkeeper Jaswant Singh said, Bikes and trucks often get stuck at this spot.
The other day a pregnant lady fell into this. We have complained to the BMC many times, but nothing has been done so far.
When asked about the problems, Mahesh Jangam, maintenance department, BMC (K east ward) said, Hawkers are a perennial problem. We have conducted meetings with MMRDA to work on a solution as the road comes under their purview.
MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawatkar said, Hawkers and footpath are BMCs responsibility. We have tried to ease the traffic by opening both sides of the road. We request people to bear with us till the work is done.
* Residents say that despite repeated complaints to officials, nothing is being done to remove hawkers; one of the open manholes