One man's resolve dusts off Dindoshi traffic chowky
Dindoshi traffic chowky Volunteers clear out trash from the traffic post under the bridge at Dindoshi; a traffic cop paints the chowky’s paling as part of the face lift
Pained at the sight of mounds of garbage, construction material and abandoned vehicles flanking Dindoshi traffic chowky, Vasudha Jhunjhunwala, a Goregaon resident, decided to do undertake a spruce-up job.
His resolve helped initiate a six-month project to give the place, under the Aarey flyover, a makeover. The face lift kicked off on October 2.
"Like everybody else, I used to look at the mess below the flyover during my daily commute and wonder how traffic cops spend time in such filthy surrounds. I felt the urge to do something. So I began meeting traffic cops to discuss possible solutions a month back," shared Jhunjhunwala, who is an entrepreneur as well as senior faculty at an Art of Living centre.
Senior Inspector Vijay Salunke of Dindoshi traffic chowky, who assumed charge in September, was also keen to improve the state of affairs below the flyover, which helped expedite the project.
The project hopes to beautify the 700-metre stretch of the traffic chowky below the flyover. It aims to stop littering, remove abandoned vehicles and debris, level the ground, plant vertical gardens, create sitting areas and paint the section under the bridge.
On Tuesday, volunteers from Art of Living, local elected representatives, civic staffers, students of Dairy Science Institute at Aarey Colony and citizen activists held the first clean-up drive. In a matter of four hours, around three tonnes of trash was cleared.
Seeing the citizens' response, traffic cops on Wednesday cleared another section near the chowky which they plan to develop as a garden. "This is a busy, noisy junction. We are sure the plants will help cut noise and dust pollution. Our staff is very happy at the difference just two days of work has made," said Salunke.
But there are challenges lined up. While traffic cops are in touch with BMC for removal of abandoned vehicles, the spot is still a dump yard of construction debris discarded by BMC or MMRDA.
Jhunjhunwala said local councillor Swapnil Tembalkar as well as representatives of MP Gajanan Kirtikar have promised they would help get the word across to the authorities to ensure that the citizen project is on track.
