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Fed up of traffic woes in Uran, commuters take to social media
Traffic snarls on Uran-Belapur road is a recurring issue with commuters getting stuck for more than half an hour every day and the situation worsens on weekends.
Traffic snarls on Uran-Belapur road is a recurring issue with commuters getting stuck for more than half an hour every day and the situation worsens on weekends.
On Friday night, vehicles were so jampacked there was no space for even two-wheelers to pass through.
Commuters have started a social media campaign against the increasing traffic. “We have already started our movement and raised complaint on social networking sites. We will ensure that hashtag uran traffic starts trending on twitter,” said Vivek Jadhav, 40, a Uran resident.
Sunil Lokhande, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, said, “Traffic on Uran Panvel road via Roadpali and CBD Belapur is due to multi-axial vehicles. We have diverted the traffic of heavy vehicles on NH348 in the evenings and mornings.”
“As an immediate measure, we will deploy traffic cops on the stretch to ensure that vehicles don’t stop unnecessarily and create a jam,” said Lokhande.
The traffic issue at Uran-Belapur road has been going on for a year now. After frequent complaints, it eases for a few days only to resurface.
“We have complained about it many a times but haven’t got a permanent solution,” said Adesh Rane, 39 a commuter who travels every day to Nerul.
“While we take up the issue on social networking sites we want officials to know about our everyday ordeal. We will ensure that maximum people tweet about the issue,” added Rane.
After the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport to come up near Uran, the area has become a hotspot.
Hemant Sharma, a transport activist said, “Due to the airport project, the area is developing. But, infrastructure has not been upgraded. The lane expansion work is also going slow.”
Due to the proposed airport, real estate activities shot up and many people are now considering shifting in the area.
“We had purchased home at Uran but have yet not shifted to the area because of travel woes. Traffic is bad on the stretch and until it improves there is no point in shifting,” said Ravindra Ojha, 49 a Kalamboli resident.
The commuters also blame Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), other government godowns, private companies operating in the area for the traffic. “Because of many godowns, multi-axial vehicles move regularly on the stretch blocking the road space,” said Bimal Patel a city-based activist.
“There are no adequate parking spaces designated for heavy vehicles hence, the vehicles mostly wait on road till they get entry into the facility,” added Patel.
