Mumbai: After a seven-year delay, work on the widening of the Parsi Panchayat subway in Andheri (E) will begin on Friday. The Shiv Sena legislator from Jogeshwari, Ravindra Waikar, had proposed this widening work after several motorists complained to him about the traffic congestion they faced daily, due to the narrow subway. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had planned to widen and reconstruct the vehicular underpass.
However, till date, work on this project could not begin due to the ongoing construction work of Metro 7 (Andheri East-Dahisar East) on the Western Express High (WEH) and for want of approval from the Mumbai traffic department, claimed Waikar. The Free Press Journal had reported about Waikar blaming Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the delay.
However, with the MMRDA finally awarding a tender to N A Construction Company in December, the Rs 13.30 crore project is expected to be completed in the next 18 months. The underpass is regularly used by vehicles coming from the Andheri Pump House, MIDC, SEEPZ, Sher-E-Punjab, Poonam Nagar, Mahakali Caves and others to reach the Western Express Highway (WEH).
As there are residential, commercial and slum areas here, there is massive traffic congestion on the road, especially during peak hours. Interestingly, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had laid the foundation stone for the widening project two years ago.
