Mumbai: Encroachment a major cause of traffic snarls on LBS road

The Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Road that connects Sion to Mulund and serves as an important link has seen a growing number of encroachments over the years, causing traffic jams and other problems for citizens. The Free press Journal has reviewed the situation and found encroachments at many locations along the road.

𝗕𝗠𝗖 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘁

RTI and social activist Anil Galgali who is well acquainted with the area said, “Seven years ago, the Bombay High Court had constituted a traffic committee that I was a part of. We conducted a survey and found around 600 encroachments on LBS road. It was decided that the BMC will remove the encroachments but the civic body is moving at a snail's pace.” The LBS Road passes through five administration wards of the BMC – L Ward (Kurla), N Ward (Ghatkopar), S Ward (Bhandup), T Ward (Mulund) and G-North Ward (Mahim-Dharavi) – of which satisfactory work has been done only in N Ward.

𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲: 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗸𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁

According to Ghatkopar resident Vaibhav Awate-Patil, encroachments had been removed for road widening work but the illegal stalls and garages sprung up again. “A number of people consume liquor at the Chinese food stalls. It has become a headache. These stalls must be removed before any more come up. However, the BMC doesn't seem to take any action,” he said.

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗷𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 & 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲, 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱

Bunty Panjwani, a resident of Mulund, said he hasn't seen the civic authorities taking action against any illegal structures along the LBS Road. “There are always traffic jams between Johnson & Johnson and Nirmal Lifestyle, so people avoid LBS and prefer narrow lanes. However, there are now encroachments along these narrow lanes too. Not only, illegal stalls and shops, but auto-rickshaws and other vehicles are also parked illegally,” said Panjwani.

𝗕𝗠𝗖 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of L Ward, Mahadev Shinde said, “We have expansion plans for LBS Road. Accordingly, some illegal structures have been razed and others will be removed soon. We raze illegal food stalls on a regular basis but it would help if police action is also taken against the offenders.” He added that the BMC take action regularly but it is difficult to control the encroachers.

Assistant Commissioner of S Ward, Sanjay Sonavane said he has already initiated stern action against encroachments in N Ward. “I assure you in the next two months I will make LBS Road free of encroachments in N-Ward (Ghatkopar). “There were six shops of the NCP party minority cell chairman at Chirag Nagar which I got removed. Now we have served notices to shops and houses in the Swatik area near MG Road which will also be cleared in the next few days,” Sonavane said.