Amar Mahal junction also connects Ghatkopar and Tilak Nagar where a lot of redevelopment projects are on. (Express photo)The Amar Mahal stretch is one of the most important junctions in the city and is located on the Ghatkopar-Mahul Road. In the late 60s, this was a two-lane road with one lane carriageways on each side. Later, in the 1980s, it was widened to four lanes and now it has six lanes.
The 320-metre stretch between Amar Mahal junction to Sahakar junction is being widened and the mid-section of the road has been dug up for the completion of the Metro line 4.
Road widening work from Amar Mahal junction to Sahakar junction – a 320-metre patch. (Express photo) Ranjit Rajput, the executive engineer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Roads department said, “The work has been delayed as piling work of Metro 4 is not complete and MMRDA is not doing any work.” MMRDA’s executive engineer Shivani Patil, who is handling the project, said they have already handed over the stretch to BMC but refused to comment on the reasons for the delay.
Location: Amar Mahal junction at Chembur which connects Tilak Nagar and Ghatkopar to the city and also provides connectivity to western suburbs.
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Project details: Road widening work from Amar Mahal junction to Sahakar junction – a 320-metre patch. This stretch was a 22.5 metre road and was widened to 37.2 metre.
Dug up for: The mid-section of the road has been dug up for the completion of the Metro line 4 connecting Wadala and Thane and passing through Chembur and Ghatkopar. But now MMRDA is using 22.5 metre for Metro work.
Implementing agency: Roads department of the BMC
Importance of the project: Amar Mahal is an important junction in Mumbai. This road also leads to the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Kurla East. Besides, Tilak Nagar and Ghatkopar East are expanding vertically and need larger roads.
Total initial cost of project: Rs 10 crore.
Revised cost till now: Not known as it’s yet to be calculated.
Work started: 2019
Initial deadline of completion of project: 2020
Revises deadline or when it is expected to be complete: After the piers of Metro 4 are complete. Work on these piers is supposed to start after monsoon and it is still not known how many months it would take for the work to get over.
Reasons cited for delay: BMC’s executive engineer of the Roads department Ranjit Rajput says the piling work of the Metro 4 is not yet complete. If the BMC widens and concretises this stretch now, it can again get spoiled due to piling works, he said.
Description of the road and its use: The Ghatkopar Mahul Road not only connects the two eastern suburbs but also is a road that connects many parts of the city to Kurla railway terminus. Amar Mahal junction also connects Ghatkopar and Tilak Nagar where a lot of redevelopment projects are on.
The barricading for Metro work: The MMRDA has barricaded two (Lower Parel and Worli naka) of the three sides of the Rakhangi chowk and has put up another barricade from both sides of E Moses on its Worli Naka stretch. Due to this, a bottleneck gets created in the peak hours at the chowk.
What the officials are doing about the problem: The Deputy municipal Commissioner in-charge of Zone 5, V V Shankarwar, held a meeting earlier this week. Shankarwar said, “There are massive traffic jams on this stretch every evening and the work has been stalled for the last four years. I have clearly told the MMRDA officers to shrink the barricading as the traffic flow is getting affected. MMRDA officers told me that they have blacklisted their contractor and appointed a new one.”
The MMRDA officials said that though BMC has removed some slums, there are a few more on the north-bound carriageway. Besides, there are illegal extensions of many shops which have come on the road and the BMC has failed to take action.
Vehicle can be seen parked in the middle of the dug up road. (Express photo) Senior inspector of traffic police Sanjay Bhalerao said, “The MMRDA has now told us that they will complete the work. They had many issues with the contractor. We have harrowing times clearing the traffic.” Bhalerao said that the stretch had seen many accidents and they had to take corrective steps to reduce it.
Now, many tempo owners have started parking between the metro piers that are incomplete and the traffic department regularly imposes fines on them, said Bhalerao.
Another traffic police officer said that the Sahakar Circle is now widened and the motorists drive in a rough manner as there is no proper signage.
What residents say: Retired deputy commissioner (infrastructure) of BMC, Sanjay Darade, who stays in Tilak Nagar, said, “I pushed this project when I helmed the state of affairs but it remained incomplete. I have to regularly travel to Nashik to see my ailing father and this stretch is a pain.”
Senior Counsel Raja Thakare, who stays in Rajawadi area of Ghatkopar, said, “This entire process is a mess. There are not enough policemen and because of incomplete roads, there are traffic violations.”
Yogen Gondalia, a resident of Ghatkopar, said, “I wish the pace of the Metro work gets faster and the road widening is completed soon.”
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