Commuters fear about potholes, craters on major roads in Thane

There are potholes aplenty, uneven patches of roads along major roads in Thane; pathetic conditions lead to regular traffic congestion

Following the death of a youngster due to the bad road conditions in Thane, residents and commuters have raised concerns about commuting over longer distances along the Ghodbunder Road and Thane-Nashik Highway. There are potholes aplenty and uneven patches of roads along these major highways. The pathetic conditions of these highways lead to regular traffic congestion.

Major roads in Thane are filled with potholes. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

Moreover, the soon-to-be announced traffic curbs on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway near Ghodbunder Road for heavy vehicles due to repair work would add to the existing traffic snarls in the city especially along this major road.

Commuters had to endure a nightmarish commute on both Tuesday and Wednesday as 15km-long serpentine queues of vehicles were witnessed on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway. The traffic snarls spilled over to Ghodbunder Road, Waghbil, Kalwa, Majiwada and other areas in Thane city. Although the movement of heavy vehicles has been restricted to only night time, commuters complain that they often find heavy vehicles during peak hours as well.

The traffic department has taken efforts to fill the potholes in many places to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. However, the respective authorities continue to stay mum on the poor condition of roads in the city.

Vinay Rathod, DCP (Traffic), Thane, said, “The poor condition of roads and the heavy rains that damaged the temporary filling of potholes led to a slow pace of traffic. We have approached the local authorities and asked them to do the needful.”

Commuters claimed that they face this kind of problem year after year following a heavy downpour. “The potholes and huge craters force us to drive slowly, causing traffic snarls during peak hours. As it has been raining heavily over the last few days, the size and the number of potholes have increased. Every day, during the peak hours, it takes twice the time to commute,” said Prathiti Shetty, 49, a resident of Mumbra who travels to Thane daily.

An officer from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is in charge of the Thane-Nashik Highway, added, “We have started the repair work of roads from Igatpuri onwards and shall continue till Mulund Toll Naka. A meeting with officials from all authorities related to road repairs was conducted this week, wherein all have agreed to initiate repair work at the earliest.”

While both authorities claim that pothole-filling work is undertaken regularly, the ground reality is contradictory. Most stretches along these two highways are riddled with huge craters making commuting difficult. In these times when fuel prices have skyrocketed, commuters lament that they spend a fortune on gas owing to these congestions. With the road being the only option for most, there is no respite from the traffic snarls.

In 2019, there were five instances of pothole deaths in Thane district. There were umpteen protests. Commuters fear that if local authorities continue to ignore the condition of the roads, more such accidents may follow.

“There is no other option but the road to access areas beyond Ghodbunder Road. Travelling daily on this pothole-filled stretch has caused back and neck pain. I spend an hour, and during heavy rains more than that, to cover an 8km distance to my house. It seems like the Metro will provide respite from these bad roads,” said Paresh Kharkhanis, a 53-year-old resident of Patlipada who travels from Wagle Estate to Patlipada every day by road.

Pothole memes on social media

Akash Kundu and Krishnakant Kshatriya are two youngsters who made use of an online trend to make a plea for better roads in Dombivli. The original song in English by Justin Bieber called ‘Stay’ was used by the duo to create a Marathi parody. This video posted on social media has more than 12,000 views within a day of posting it. In the video, the lyrics have been changed to “I am ashamed to drive a two-wheeler, I am ashamed to drop guests, I am ashamed to pay taxes due to the poor condition of these roads.”

In the video, the duo is seen dancing amidst potholes and large craters in various parts of Dombivli city. Apart from this, there are many tweets and memes of poor condition of roads and the increased potholes in Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Dombivli and Thane city that are doing the rounds.

RESIDENTSPEAK

“It hardly takes 30 minutes from my residence to go to Thane. However, I spend around two hours on a daily basis to cover this distance. On Thursday morning, at around 11.30am I was in front of Jupiter Hospital and by 1.15pm, I had not crossed Kharegaon Toll Naka.”

Arvind Gupta, 38, resident of Tata Amantra

“Getting stuck in traffic in Thane city is not only time consuming but also makes a hole in our pockets due to the expensive petrol and diesel prices. Being taxpayers, can’t we expect at least roads that are easy to drive on and do not cause traffic jams?”

Sahil Sisodia, 44, resident of Patlipada

“An absolute mess of traffic and chaos. (It has) been over a week of round the clock bumper to bumper traffic in and around Majiwada. The administration has gone from bad to worse & now no one simply cares.

Akshay Agrawal, tweeting to TMC

“Traffic in Thane city is highly mismanaged! Because of this the traffic spills on all the subsequent roads. Right from Patni till Kalwa naka and again from Majiwada till Waghbil. This is an everyday affair especially in Evenings. We get stuck for hours at the same place.”

Priyannka Desai, tweeting to Thane traffic