Chaos, traffic snarls in Chandivali as housing complex shuts their internal road connecting Powai

Problem compounded as Panch Shrishti road already closed for reconstruction; locals say private road should be open on humanitarian grounds till BMC completes work

Commuters and Chandivali residents were taken by surprise on Thursday morning when they found a private road, connecting the area to Hiranandani and Powai, shut by housing societies leading to traffic jams and chaos.

Mumbai, India - June 22, 2023 : CC Road work in Chandivali, Andheri, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The closing of the road exacerbated a prevailing situation as a public road, Panch Shrishti, connecting the areas, has been clsoed since June first week, for concretisation and the private road was an alternate route.

The private road in question is the Lake Homes complex’s internal road, which provides connectivity between Chandivali and Powai Vihar, which has three schools and Hiranandani Hospital.

For some weeks now, the private road had been kept open to vehicular traffic as Panch Shrishti road was shut for concretisation. On Thursday, however, the only alternate left for thousands of citizens was to use a potholed and uneven DP road 9 connecting Powai through the busy JVLR.

On Thursday morning, residents, especially parents wanting to drop their children off at the schools in Powai were surprised by the decision of the Lake Homes complex. The residents of the complex had also deployed bouncers at the gate to manage any conflict arising out of shutting of the road. Left with no choice, parents and other commuters had to take the already busy DP road 9, connecting to the congested JVLR to go towards Powai. It resulted in many children reaching their schools an hour late.

Milind Mondkar, chairman, Lake homes federal CHS, said, “We had kept our road open for quite some time as Panch Shrishti road was shut for reconstruction. We were informed by the BMC that the Panch Srishti road will be opened on Wednesday. “Accordingly, we informed the traffic police, police, the L and S wards of the BMC, the MLA and the former corporators about shutting our private road to public. The complex has 1,700 families, and we have our own traffic problems inside. The vehicles entering from outside added to our problems.”

Recalling an incident when a senior citizen was run over by a bus inside the complex three months back, Mondkar said that the residents have to regularly face issues such as constant honking and rash driving at night.

About the bouncers placed at the gate of the complex, Mondkar said, “At times, people have threatened us to open the road to public, hence, we had to tighten the security as well.”

He added, “We informed all possible authorities that we will shut our internal private road for outsiders, what more can we do if BMC contractor did not open the public road as per their commitment?”

Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder member, Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association, said, “While we understand that there may be some difficulties faced by the residents, the private road should have been kept open on humanitarian grounds till the time the alternate route is opened.” Blaming the BMC for its lack of planning, Makkar said that if the civic body had properly planned the reconstruction of the road, there would have been no chaos and the residents of Chandivali and Lakes Homes complex would not have had to suffer. “Where are all the public representatives who inaugurate the road works but do not follow through with the timelines?” asked Makkar. “We requested the Lake Homes residents to keep the spirit of Mumbai on and allow the vehicles to pass from the area till the road works are completed.”

Makkar said that their concern was parents panicking because school buses were getting late, and children eventually reached their schools late by an hour and were seen crying.

“If leaders take credit for inaugurating roadworks, they should also accept the outrage when things go wrong,” said Makkar adding that it is high time the authorities understood the importance of a 90 feet road, which the residents are demanding in Chandivali.

Samadhan Pawar, in-charge of Sakinaka traffic police station said, “The road is private and was shut after society members had spoken to a local politician. The road is a short cut, but the main road is always there. After intervention by the police, the private road was opened for traffic, and that managed to ease the traffic jam.” Chief engineer of BMC’s roads department did not respond to HT’s request for a comment.