Thane: Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik claimed on Monday that the work of merging the Ghodbunder service road with the main road will be completed by the end of December, and the residents of Ghodbunder will be free from traffic congestion.
However, Thane Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao immediately rejected the minister's claim. He clarified that the work will not be completed by the end of December, and he will not show any kind of daydream. He stated that the work will be completed by the end of February 2026. This means the deadline for this road work has been extended by another two months.
Review of development works
Sarnaik reviewed various development works on Monday at the late Arvind Pendse Hall in Thane Municipal Corporation. At the meeting, he claimed that the work on the Ghodbunder road is progressing rapidly and will be completed by the end of December. However, his claim was rejected by the Municipal Commissioner. A cost of 560 crores is being spent on the concretization work of the road on the Ghodbunder route.
Two Months Required
Although the important works here will be completed by the end of December, some minor works will remain, and it will take another two months to complete them.
To reduce traffic congestion in the Ghodbunder area, the work of merging the service road with the main road has been undertaken, and this work is for a distance of 10.50 km from Kapurbawdi to Gaimukh.
Traffic Speed Slowed
Police Deputy Commissioner of the Traffic Department, Pankaj Shirsath, informed that there are many bottlenecks on the Ghodbunder route. Due to the ongoing work from Kapurbawdi to Gaimukh, only one lane of the service road is open in many places, and in some places, the metro work is also ongoing, which has slowed down the traffic.
After 3 AM, the traffic of heavy vehicles increases, and the Gaimukh Ghat gets jammed. It takes from 8 to 9 AM to clear this congestion, so there is congestion in this area, he informed. He also provided information on what measures are being taken to resolve the congestion here. The Commissioner's statement claims that the promise made by Sarnaiik is yet to be fulfilled and people will have to bear the traffic problems for a few more months.
