Mumbai: There is no civil work being carried out along the entire stretch of LBS Road near Kanjumarg station where the Metro Line 4 (Wadala-Kasarwadavli) passes through. This stretch has simply been barricaded from the last two years blocking major space along the busy street and causing massive congestion during peak hours, claim residents staying in the buildings nearby.
Snehal Basrur, local resident and member of the Kanjurmarg Bhandup clean ALM, pressed on the issue saying the residents have been taken for granted. “No work is being carried out. When we enquire the officers say the contractor has gone bankrupt and that he has no manpower and machinery to carry out the work. Is MMRDA not aware of the financial position of this contractor (Reliance & Astaldi). Why it is taking so long for them to take a decision whether they should be terminated or not. According to Basrur, a show-cause notice has been issued but the residents are fed-up and want immediate action.
Basrur added that with the monsoon season nearing the traffic problems will only worsen. “When we take our car out from our housing complex onto the LBS road it takes half an hour to travel out of the vicinity,” she said.
Another resident, Shirish Daudkhane who is also a spokesperson for the Kanjurmarg Bhandup Clean ALM said, “I am myself an engineer and have visited the entire world for my professional work. Nowhere is such work being carried out. If you visit Singapore, they have taken up metro work say for a 4 km stretch, and later on, additional stations are added from both ends of the corridor. Here, the MMRDA has put a barricade for the entire 32-km-long stretch and the commuters have to suffer. Daudkhane pointed out that of the 37 km stretch that the Metro Line 2A&7 cover, only 20 km has been opened up for the public. He said that the MMRDA should have focused on the stretch which was easy instead of digging up the entire 37 km length.
Resident Uma Iyer stated the LBS stretch has poor street lighting. People returning home in the evening have to switch on their mobile phone torches to see the road. "Due to the metro work, the street lights have been blocked by barricades or piers. Chain snatching incidents have increased. The BMC and MMRDA have no coordination. The roads have potholes. When we reach out to the BMC they reply that MMRDA is responsible as they are carrying out the metro work. Meanwhile, the latter says it cannot fix the road as it comes under the BMC. Who should we approach?” questioned Iyer.
Resident Caroline Kelp, supporting the issues raised by others, said that the authorities should coordinate and work together. Meanwhile, Basrur and Daudkhane said that if the said contractor is terminated for not doing the work now, the MMRDA may call a fresh tender to appoint a new contractor. The tendering process will take another 6-8 months time and they alleged that eventually, the citizens will suffer again. “Instead, the MMRDA should appoint some existing contractor to carry out the work,” they said.
Everyone is well aware that the MMRDA has divided the metro line work into different packages assuming that they will finish the work in time, but unfortunately, that did not happen. “So the work of Metro Line 4 beyond LBS stretch is being carried out supposedly, say by TATA, then they should be handed over the work, so that manpower and machinery can simply be moved to the same side of the stretch. This is much easier and saves time,” the residents said.
FPJ'S email queries to the Reliance and Astaldi on allegations made by these residents remained unanswered until the time of going to press on Wednesday. Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas also did not reply to the sent query. However, the MMRDA in March had sent a notice to the contractor for delays in work. The FPJ reporter, while meeting the MMRDA commissioner earlier, had asked about this issue and he had stated that strict action will be taken. “I am aware of the issue. The work is not going on as per the target from the last two years. We will take action,” he had said.
