Hasnabad Lane in Khar joins three other roads in the area that have already been dug up, resulting in traffic bottlenecks. (Above) Mirror’s reports on the dug-up roads
Hasnabad Lane, at the intersection of Khar Subway and S V Road, dug up overnight by contractor who was supposed to concretise the stretch in December last year.
A couple of residents' associations in Khar have alleged that a busy stretch at the intersection of Khar Subway and S V Road was dug up overnight on Sunday, resulting in traffic chaos and two-wheeler riders being forced to use the footpath.
The stretch, Hasnabad Lane, is the latest addition to the list of dug-up roads across the city whose repairs have been stalled for months because of poor planning and difficulties in shifting underground utilities.
In the case of Hasnabad Lane, the residents have alleged that the contractor, K R Constructions, was supposed to complete the concretisation of the road by December 15 last year. "Not only did the contractor miss the deadline by a month-and-a-half, he had stopped work completely. Suddenly, we found the road dug up. We called up the traffic police, who promised to look into the matter," said a resident, Joan Shenoy.
Senior Inspector (traffic, Bandra division) Pradeep Chavan said the contractor did have ano-objection certificate from police, but the problem was he wasn't able to complete the work on time. "I inspected the spot and have asked the contractor to put up barricades to regulate traffic movement," he said.
Two residents' associations, the Church Avenue Advanced Locality Management (ALM) and the St Francis Avenue ALM, have been monitoring the work from the time it started last year, and in January this year, they put up banners reminding the contractor of the missed deadline, which he allegedly got removed within a day.
Mirror had reported on January 3 how stalled road works (223 dug-up roads) had turned the city into a giant excavation site, pushing up pollution levels significantly. Several Mumbaiites responded to the report, 'Somebody call Bob the Builder', a few of them pointing out that several projects in their neighbourhoods seemed stalled.
Acivic official said the contractor was not to be blamed. "Water pipes and storm water drains below the stretch needed to be replaced. While we managed to replace a major portion of the water pipeline, we couldn't locate the old pipelines, and had to stop concretisation till those could be found and connected to the new lines. Response from the BMC's Water Department was slow," he said.
Khar residents said three stretches along the SV Road intersection towards Khar station are already dug up, causing traffic bottlenecks in the area. "The roads work is on for the last nine months. The contractors stop work citing random reasons and BMC defends them. We wrote to the municipal commissioner, who didn't even bother to reply," said aresident.
Alka Kerkar, the corporator from the area, said, "It is true that work couldn't have continued without sorting out the underground utilities problems. But it is also a fact that many a time, approvals from various departments got delayed. The contractor has now said that work will be completed next month."
The contractor, Milan Shah, was not available for comment.
A couple of residents' associations in Khar have alleged that a busy stretch at the intersection of Khar Subway and S V Road was dug up overnight on Sunday, resulting in traffic chaos and two-wheeler riders being forced to use the footpath.
The stretch, Hasnabad Lane, is the latest addition to the list of dug-up roads across the city whose repairs have been stalled for months because of poor planning and difficulties in shifting underground utilities.
In the case of Hasnabad Lane, the residents have alleged that the contractor, K R Constructions, was supposed to complete the concretisation of the road by December 15 last year. "Not only did the contractor miss the deadline by a month-and-a-half, he had stopped work completely. Suddenly, we found the road dug up. We called up the traffic police, who promised to look into the matter," said a resident, Joan Shenoy.
Senior Inspector (traffic, Bandra division) Pradeep Chavan said the contractor did have ano-objection certificate from police, but the problem was he wasn't able to complete the work on time. "I inspected the spot and have asked the contractor to put up barricades to regulate traffic movement," he said.
Two residents' associations, the Church Avenue Advanced Locality Management (ALM) and the St Francis Avenue ALM, have been monitoring the work from the time it started last year, and in January this year, they put up banners reminding the contractor of the missed deadline, which he allegedly got removed within a day.
Mirror had reported on January 3 how stalled road works (223 dug-up roads) had turned the city into a giant excavation site, pushing up pollution levels significantly. Several Mumbaiites responded to the report, 'Somebody call Bob the Builder', a few of them pointing out that several projects in their neighbourhoods seemed stalled.
Acivic official said the contractor was not to be blamed. "Water pipes and storm water drains below the stretch needed to be replaced. While we managed to replace a major portion of the water pipeline, we couldn't locate the old pipelines, and had to stop concretisation till those could be found and connected to the new lines. Response from the BMC's Water Department was slow," he said.
Khar residents said three stretches along the SV Road intersection towards Khar station are already dug up, causing traffic bottlenecks in the area. "The roads work is on for the last nine months. The contractors stop work citing random reasons and BMC defends them. We wrote to the municipal commissioner, who didn't even bother to reply," said aresident.
Alka Kerkar, the corporator from the area, said, "It is true that work couldn't have continued without sorting out the underground utilities problems. But it is also a fact that many a time, approvals from various departments got delayed. The contractor has now said that work will be completed next month."
The contractor, Milan Shah, was not available for comment.
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