Kurla pump room on SCLR to be shifted for smoother traffic flow

There is good news for commuters travelling along the Santacruz –Chembur Link Road (SCLR) as authorities have found an alternate site to shift the pump room near Halav bridge in Kurla.

There is good news for commuters travelling along the Santacruz –Chembur Link Road (SCLR) as authorities have found an alternate site to shift the pump room near Halav bridge in Kurla. The pump room has been hindering a smooth flow of traffic ever since the link road was thrown open in February last year.

The pump room will be shifted to an unused stretch of land under the jurisdiction of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), along SCLR.

Recently, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had closed the right-turn on SCLR to Kurla station to reduce traffic congestion on the stretch between the double-deck bridge and the LBS road flyover. However, the pump room, which is a part of Netaji Nagar housing society, continued to create a bottleneck.

“Mhada has agreed to give us its land where the pump house will be shifted. The shifting work will start soon,” MMRDA chief engineer SB Tamsekar said.

MMRDA officials said the process of shifting, which will take about a month, will not affect the flow of traffic.

Meanwhile, locals have protested against the decision to close the right-turn to the Kurla station as they will now have to go a kilometre ahead and take a u-turn at the double-deck bridge to reach Kurla station.

RTI activist Anil Galgali said, “Despite several requests, the MMRDA and civic officials have not responded to our demands to re-open the right-turn. So we are going to meet the joint commissioner of traffic next month, seeking re-opening of the right-turn.”