Traffic snarls affect industries in Taloja

Managing committee members of the Taloja Industries Association (TIA), which represents the manufacturers in the hub, held a meeting with Sunil Kadam, new senior police inspector of Taloja traffic unit to discuss various issues such as traffic congestion, frequent accidents and illegal parking

Panvel: Worsening traffic scenario in Taloja industrial area has forced industrialists to take up the matter with the Navi Mumbai traffic police.

Navi Mumbai, India - Dec. 21, 2022:Traffic issues in Taloja industrial area worsening, in Navi Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

Managing committee members of the Taloja Industries Association (TIA), which represents the manufacturers in the hub, held a meeting with Sunil Kadam, new senior police inspector of Taloja traffic unit to discuss various issues such as traffic congestion, frequent accidents and illegal parking.

TIA president, Satish Shetty, said, “Foodland Junction (Roadpali-Kalamboli) reports severe traffic congestion regularly, while travelling to and fro from Taloja Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), which results in enormous waste of time and energy of the MIDC stakeholders.”

Shetty said frequent accidents have been reported on the Taloja MIDC main road junction opposite Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) office as vehicles move at a high speed. “New speed breakers are required on the main road,” he added.

Babu George, vice-president, TIA, said, “There are regular traffic jams and illegal parking in the engineering zone of the MIDC. ‘No parking’ sign boards should be put up in such areas where perennial traffic jams are reported.”

He said, “A new truck terminus is coming up opposite Taloja MIDC fire station, which is expected to reduce the traffic congestion in the region. We have also suggested that heavy vehicles should be restricted to the left lanes of the road, while light motor vehicles should be allowed to use the right lanes.”

Speaking on the parking issues, Bineet Salian, secretary, TIA, said “We have informed the police officials that many drivers park their trucks and go away for days. This adds to traffic congestion in the area and action should be taken against such truckers.”

“We have requested the traffic police to visit the engineering zone, which often reports massive traffic jams, and suggest measures to reduce congestion,” he added.

The TIA members also demanded that two flyovers from Roadpali to Taloja MIDC and Navda to Kalamboli should be built to reduce traffic congestion in the industrial pocket.

The TIA proposed that display boards should be put up, only allowing entry to vehicles travelling to Taloja, Kalamboli, Mumbra, Thane, Dombivli and Ambernath, and those moving towards Pune, Goa and Khopoli should not use this road as they use this road to avoid paying toll at Kamothe toll plaza.

Speaking to HT, Taloja traffic unit chief, Sunil Kadam, said, “Our teams have been attending to various traffic related complaints in the region. We will certainly look into the issues raised by the association as well. We will ensure that all necessary steps are taken to reduce congestion. We also solicit the support of all stakeholders to further improve the situation in the area.”

Taloja industrial belt

Taloja industrial belt, spread over 876.97 hectares of land, has been developed by the MIDC. It is located close to Navi Mumbai and Panvel. There are 973 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) along with large scale units operating on 1,622 carved industrial plots. Over 3 lakh workers are employed in these industries. The industrial cluster generates an annual turnover of over ₹1 lakh crore and the annual export turnover is a whopping over ₹15,000 crore. The belt has a host of industries, including engineering, chemicals, dyes, steel, food processing, glass, fisheries, pharmaceuticals, gas, fertilisers, dairy products and cold storages.