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Illegal banners cover signages on Panvel highway
The direction signages on Kalamaboli and Kharghar foot overbridge (FOB) on Sion-Panvel Expressway have been covered by political banners leading to inconvenience
The direction signages on Kalamaboli and Kharghar foot overbridge (FOB) on Sion-Panvel Expressway have been covered by political banners leading to inconvenience among motorists. The signages at the entry point of Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Kalamboli junction on Sion-Panvel Expressway are also a major concern for commuters as they get confused, which often leads to taking the wrong diversion.
Daily commuters have raised the issue with traffic police and the civic body.
Dr Amit Nohwar, a Panvel resident and a daily commuter on the road, said, “It is difficult to commute when signages are not visible. It is even worse for those traveling for the first time. In fact the signages at the entry point are not visible at all.”
He added, “I tried to lodge a complaint regarding this and called the police as well as City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), but they said it was not their responsibility. Then, I called public works department (PWD) officials, however nobody answered. Hence, I am clueless as to who would take action against these illegal banners.”
PWD, however, has ensured that they would remove the illegal banners soon. Kishore Patil, executive engineer at PWD, said, “We will ensure that illegal banners are removed and signages are clearly visible for the commuters.”
Another daily commuter, Ashish Rane, a 39-year-old Nerul resident, said, “The illegal banners do not only block signages but they may also lead to accident if not hung properly. In fact no survey is done to ensure that whether these are safe to be hung for a long time or not.”
Koustav Rana, 40, shared his experience of travelling on the road wherein he ended up taking the wrong road. “I ended up driving in a wrong direction and then had to take a U-turn to come back to take the right road. I even raised the issue with the traffic officer. He said he would intimate PWD officials about the problem,” he said.
According to commuters, the illegal banners deface the highway and the issue should be taken seriously.
Sion-Panvel Expressway is one of the busiest highways in the country as it is an important junction for vehicles going towards Pune, Goa and the southern cities of Maharashtra via Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The road was constructed to ease out the traffic on this route.
This is not the first time that political and other banners have blocked signages on Sion-Panvel Expressway. A few months ago, commuters had complained about the issue following which banners were removed pro-actively by PWD officials.
“Considering the importance of the highway, stringent action should be taken against those erecting banners as a deterrent action,” said Manoj Upadhaya, 40, a daily commuter.
