Road below new Belapur-Ulwe flyover closed for traffic due to heavy waterlogging

Commuters going to Ulwe have been taking a 20-minute detour for the last 10 days to reach their destinations as the new road below the Belapur Ulwe flyover was closed following repeated waterlogging

Commuters going to Ulwe have been taking a 20-minute detour for the last 10 days to reach their destinations as the new road below the Belapur-Ulwe flyover was closed following repeated waterlogging.

The road below Belapur Ulwe flyover that is closed for traffic due to heavy waterlogging since the last 10 days. (BACHCHAN KUMAR/HT PHOTO)

The road going towards Ulwe from Belapur is one of the roads that also reaches the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). Faulty storm water drain system is the prime reason for the flooding, claimed the authorities.

The road under Ulwe and Wahal flyovers in Panvel Taluka were waterlogged owing to heavy rainfall since the morning of July 5. Some vehicles that were stuck on the road were then towed out and since then, the traffic police have barricaded the road and shut it for vehicular movement.

“On the first day of waterlogging, the water was pumped out but there was hardly any difference to the water level. From the second day, no pumping was seen,” a local of the area said.

Meanwhile, advocate Prakash Chaudhary, a resident of Ulwe, has been spending close to 20 minutes extra every time he has to reach home from work. “Last year, the road was new and such waterlogging was not experienced. This is the first time this issue has cropped up, and I have to take a longer route to reach home. It’s causing extreme inconvenience to all the residents in Ulwe. The officials need to find a solution to this soon as the monsoon is here to stay for at least two more months.”

The traffic officials of Navi Mumbai have written to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) asking to look into the issue. “We have written to the authorities. They will have to find the exact cause and the solution as well,” Purushottam Karad, DCP (traffic), said.

A CIDCO official shifted the blame to NHAI authorities saying that the road was constructed by NHAI and not CIDCO, and hence the issue does not fall under their purview.

Meanwhile, Yeshwant Ghotkar, Deputy General Manager, NHAI, said, “This road is in a low-lying area while the planned airport is at a higher area. During the construction process of the airport and the nearby area, there were huge heaps of debris and other waste dumped, due to which all the water is flowing onto the road. We can only look into the drainage of the road and not of other areas. Hence, we have requested CIDCO to jointly visit the area with us and find the cause and solution to the problem.”