9 traffic signals in Worli not working for six months

All nine signals at the busy Comrade P.K. Kurne Chowk at Worli, a stone’s throw from the Mumbai Traffic Police headquarters, have not been working for the last six months, reports Sujit Mahamulkar.

All nine signals at the busy Comrade P.K. Kurne Chowk at Worli, a stone’s throw from the Mumbai Traffic Police headquarters, have not been working for the last six months.

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This has been causing major traffic jams on Pandurang Budhkar Marg during peak hours.

Many bus routes start from the area and there is a taxi stand at the chowk, both of which add to the traffic.

Pandurang Budhkar Marg is a fast-developing commercial area, with many offices shifting here from south Mumbai.

“Every morning, when I leave for work, I get nightmares about the traffic jams,” said Santosh Gupta, a Worli resident.

“Earlier, there were no signals at all. After receiving many complaints, the civic body installed nine six months ago. They only worked for a few days,” said Digambar Kumtekar, a resident of the area.

“Traffic policemen are there every day during peak hours,” said an officer, on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The signal failure has come at a time when the traffic police and the civic body have been working on an Area Traffic Control system for Mumbai so that motorists have to spend less time at signals.

As part of this system, underground cables have been laid at junctions to act as sensors. Depending on volume of traffic, the waiting time at each signal is adjusted.

Hence, the busiest signals will have the shortest wait at a red light.

Phase 1 of the project, involving 53 junctions from Nariman Point to Mahalaxmi, was completed in August.

The second, to be completed by March, involves 253 junctions in the suburbs.