Zip on Eastern Freeway from July next year

MUMBAI: Mumbai residents will get some relief from traffic snarls by next July when several major arterial road projects, including the Eastern Freeway, will be ready.

The major Eastern Freeway, linking Colaba and Ghatkopar, will cut the 90-minute journey to 35 to 40 minutes.

Those who are travelling to the international airport can hope to not get stuck in traffic jams as there will be a two-km long elevated road leading to the airport.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner, Ratnakar Gaikwad said several large infrastructure projects will be ready by July next year, despite the many hurdles that have delayed the projects.

One of the main reasons for the delays was the rehabilitation of the project affected persons at P D'Mello Road.

Joint project director Dilip Kawathkar said, "The Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road will be ready by December end ".

He main constraints in getting the Eastern Freeway project going was the structures on P D'Mello road whose owners had to be rehabilitated,'' said Gaikwad who said they had to rehabilitate over 100 structures in the area.

"Residents can travel from Colaba to Wadala on the Eastern Freeway, they can then go onto the Anik Panjrapole Link Road and head on towards Chembur and then Ghatkopar,'' said Joint project director,Dilip Kawathkar who pointed out that the building of the two flyovers on Ambedkar Road one at Lalbagh and the other at Kings Circle will allow motorists to drive from V T to Suman Nagar in Chembur a 20 km route in 30 minutes.

Kawathkar said that the two main East West link roads should be ready by July."The Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road will be ready by December end and the Santacruz Chembur Link Road will be ready by June,'' he said on a positive note.

Read more: Zip on Eastern Freeway from July next year - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Zip-on-Eastern-Freeway-from-July-next-year/articleshow/6837955.cms#ixzz13oE6aK4s

Churchgate to remain shut at night

Churchgate station will remain partially shut for 44 days during nights and early mornings as the railways have taken up work on building a roof on the extended station platform. For that period, Marine Lines will be the night rail terminus on Western Railway (WR).

The work will continue from October 28 to December 23. The renovated station, seeing about 18 lakh passengers every day, will be ready in time for Christmas.

“Peak hour and day traffic will not be affected much. During the period, some trains will be short-terminated at Marine Lines station and some will be cancelled. We will also ensure that the last train for Virar leaving Churchgate at 12:50am and that for Borivli leaving at 1am will depart as per schedule to avoid any inconvenience,” Sharat Chandrayan, WR chief spokesperson said.

“The station will be built with engineering novelty. The entire roof will be made elsewhere and placed over the station. Two cranes will be used, and the work will continue during the nights,” he added.

In 1867, the British did a similar thing with Bandra station. They assembled the entire roof in London, put it in a steamer, and placed it over the Bandra station building.

Though a fully-roofed Churchgate station was built in the 1950s, the station platform was extended 20 years ago to accommodate 12-car trains. The platform, however, was not provided with a roof then. “We will now complete that work in the next two months,” he said.

Also during this period, entry into Churchgate station from the Marine Lines end of platform one will be barred for the public.

Mumbai sea link may close for few hours during Obama's visit

Mumbai: The already stuttering income of Mumbai Entry Point Limited (MEPL), the toll-collecting agency for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, might suffer even more on November 6.

The sea link could be closed for a few hours that day for the convoy of the visiting US President.

However, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) refused to confirm the closure and informed that they had not received any official instruction from the state government.

Two unidentified persons were spotted walking on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link yesterday, which is not open to pedestrians. It is not clear if they were securing the bridge or just strolling.

If the MSRDC has to close the sea link, there will be heavy vehicular traffic on Mahim causeway. But the bigger worry is the financial losses that MEPL will have to incur.

According to Jayant Mhaiskar, director of MEPL, around 36,000 vehicles use the sea link daily and around 2,000-2,500 vehicles use it per hour.

He confirmed that they have not received any official intimation from the MSRDC or the state government about the possibility of closing the sea link during Obama's visit.

Mhaiskar said, "Till date, we have not received any official letter or directions in this regard, but if we receive any such orders, we would follow them."

The daily toll collection on the sea link is around Rs. 17-19 lakh, much lower than the figures projected by the MSRDC (over Rs. 36 lakh daily) before the sea link was inaugurated, causing heavy losses to MEPL.

There have been past instances when the sea link was closed. In 2009, a Formula 1 Exhibition was organised by Red Bull for which they paid MSRDC Rs. 35 lakh, of which Rs. 21 lakh was to compensate for the day's toll collection.

However, an MEPL official on condition of anonymity, said that they were yet to receive that toll compensation.

And if the sea link is closed during Obama's visit, chances are that MEPL will not receive the toll compensation of around Rs. 2 lakh either.

When Mumbai's proud landmark completed a year on July 1, the toll agency had collected Rs. 56 crore up to June 30, as against Rs. 74 crore they paid to MSRDC to win the toll tender.

As per the projections made prior to inauguration of the sea link, an average of 80,000 vehicles were expected to use the bridge daily.

However, the current figure is only between 36,000 and 39,000 vehicles daily, contributing to daily collection of around Rs. 17-19 lakh.

Lung diseases second biggest killer by 2010

Mumbai: A report says that by 2020, lung diseases will become the second biggest killer globally. A new study finds that nearly half of Mumbai's traffic cops have severely damaged lungs.

A 100 million Indians suffer from some sort of respiratory diseases. Inhaling heavy traffic fumes everyday; these traffic policemen are perhaps the worst hit by rising air pollution levels.

And to raise awareness about the health hazards from toxic pollutants, on World Spirometry Day, 115 traffic policemen underwent free lung tests at Mumbai's SevenHills Hospital. The results have left many short of breath.

45 per cent traffic policemen had abnormal test results with weak lungs and reduced lung efficiency.

20 per cent were caught in the early stages of lung malfunction.

And the high level of suspended particulate matter (SPM), does more damage than just affecting the lungs. Forty-year-old Suresh Patil has been in the midst of toxic fumes for 15 long years.

Suresh Patil, traffic policeman, Mumbai said, “Five or six years ago, I was posted in a highly polluted area, as a result I've lost all my hair and my skin is also affected. Doctors said it’s because of pollution.

And ones who are new to the service are fully aware of the threat, but there's little they can do.

Suhas Patil, another traffic policeman in Mumbai said, “My complexion has darkened and when I go back in the night I face breathing problems and allergies.”

Avinash Bairagi, traffic policeman, Mumbai said, “We can wear masks with the uniform but we can't see properly with it. It also doesn't look good with the uniform.”

But if detected early, lung diseases can be treated, so the patients should watch out for warning signs.

Heavy rains lash Mumbai

After days of dry spell, heavy rains on Saturday lashed the metropolis, partially disrupting road traffic and train services on Western and Central line.

The weather department has predicted heavy rains in few parts of the city and suburbs for tomorrow.

The city has recorded a rainfall of 26.13 mm, while the figures for eastern and western suburbs were 21.85 and 10.98 mms respectively.

The Met department has also forecast thundershowers with possibility of heavy rains in some areas.

Trains on Western line were running late by 10-15 minutes while those on Central were nearly half an hour behind schedule, railway officials said.

Flight operations were however normal, airport officials said.

According to civic officials, water logging was reported from several low lying areas like Hindmata, Dadar, Sion, Matunga, Mahim and Andheri subway.

Schoolchildren from suburban Ghatkopar, Chembur, Kurla had a tough time reaching their homes.

Road traffic was badly hit on the busy Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, S V Road and Eastern Express highway.

The ongoing Metro rail work at suburban Ghatkopar has further added to the woes to the pedestrians in the area, Preeti Parekh, a local resident said.

MMRDA to construct a tri level structure with the flyover at a height of 65 ft from ground level

For the very first time in Mumbai the vehicles will ply on a bridge which will be at a height of 65 ft above the ground level on a tri level structure being constructed at the junction of Panjarpol, Chembur. The structure will be a part of the Eastern Freeway that starts from P D’Mello road in South Mumbai and ends at Ghatkopar on Eastern Express Highway.

The state-of-the-art structure being constructed by MMRDA will be a part of a trio of structures that will consist of the flyover being built at a height of 65 ft on the third level, a Mahim Kurla Mankurd Metro line at a height of 20 ft at the second level and level one will be the existing Ramkrishna Chemburkar road.

The Metro line will run parallel above the Ramkrishna Chemburkar road and the elevated road will cross the metro at the Panjarpol junction. The work of the engineering marvel has begun and is expected to be completed in a year’s time. The 65 ft height stretch will comprise of 2+2 lane carriage ways.

“Mumbai is a centre of economic enlargement and hubs of scientific innovations, therefore, for the sustenance of such a city; precedence is required to be given for solving its traffic problems. The traffic bearing capacity of roads within the city can be increased by constructing Tri- level flyovers for smooth traffic flow on busy road junctions”, said Mr. Ratnakar Gaikwad, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA.

Construction of elevated structure at a height of 65 ft in itself is a mammoth effort which will undertake with the help of huge cranes, launching girders and other machineries.

Another important feature of this project is a twin tube tunnel being constructed in the BARC hill. This will be joined by the elevated road in the Panjarpol junction maintaining the same elevation of 65 ft.

The proposed trio will be a source of pride for Mumbai, which believes many more tourists will come to admire one of the engineering wonders of the 21st Century.

Traffic cops book 3,466 vehicles in pre-monsoon drive

Navi Mumbai: In what can be described as one of the biggest pre-monsoon drives by the traffic police to bolster the state of preparedness of both vehicles and the motorists, a whopping 3466 cases were booked during the drive from May 21 to June 9.

The cops checked various aspects ranging from working of wipers, tail lamp, condition of the tyres, indicators, reflectors totalling 13 sections under Motor Vehicles Act besides zeroing on to the heavy vehicles to check whether they had the cautionary signals at the rear in a proper condition to avoid accidents.

"We did minute checks including whether there were rubbers on the mudguards and the indicators were working," said a cop and added that 339 cases were booked for the rubbers not being in place. The police also booked 1729 cases for vehicles that were found parked in authorised areas that posed threat for causing accidents.

Hundreds of motorists were caught unawares when their vehicles were stopped during the drive. As the monsoon was yet to set in, many motorists were hard pressed to explain why the wipers were not in working condition. The cops said the standard answer was that they would get it done once the rains set in, but steadfast in their resolve to send a strong message, the cops booked 448 cases in this regard.

Rear mirrors (66 cases), brake lights and tail lamps not in good condition led to another 150 and 114 cases being booked respectively, besides the vehicles checked for reflectors and indicators among other violations under the MV Act. Out of the total cases booked, 2840 cases have already been compounded resulting in a fine collection of little over Rs 32 lakh.

Mumbai: Auto, taxi fares rise by Rs 2

“Base fare has been increased from Rs 14 to Rs 16, while for every kilometer, passengers have to pay Re 1 more, ie, the fare has been hiked from Rs 9 to Rs 10,” Mumbai Taximen Union president A L Quadros told reporters after a a meeting of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Transport Authority (MMRTA) here.

The new fares will be effective from June 27.

Meanwhile, the MMRTA has already approved the proposal to increase base fare of autorickshaws from Rs 9 to Rs 11. Passengers will have to shell out Rs 6.50 instead of Rs 5 for per kilometer.

The financial capital of India came almost crumbled on Monday as a strike by about 85,000 taxis and over a lakh auto rickshaws crippled life and diverted the pressure of daily commuters on the already overstretched trains and buses.

The strike was called to protest the increase in the prices of CNG and in demand of a hike in fare.

The taxis and autos stopped plying since midnight.

Reports said though the strike was called by only one union, other operators had to support the protest in fear of violence on the streets.

Heavy rains lash Mumbai, air, rail traffic affected

Heavy rains and strong winds lashed Mumbai on Tuesday and Wednesday, hitting flight schedules.

Flights arriving in the city are running 45 minutes behind schedule. Departing flights are an hour late. Fluctuating visibility is contributing to the delays. Suburban trains have also been delayed by 10 to 15 minutes.

Traffic came to a halt as the roads got flooded leading to a huge pile up of cars and buses.ater logging has been reported from Parel, Dadar, Andheri and Hindmata.

There has been flooding at Milan subway in Santa Cruz as well. Colaba area has recorded 81.4 mm of rainfall while Santa Cuz has received 59.8 mm of rains.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) had on Tuesday people not to venture into the sea, as the city would witness high tides measuring about 4.70 metres till June 17.
Meanwhile, the BMC has decided to implement a two-tier safety and security system at the city's seafront.

The corporation will use services of 150 firefighters, while adding to its team of lifeguards at the seafront.

Heavy rains lash Mumbai, air, rail traffic affected

Heavy rains coupled with strong winds today lashed the city and its suburbs, disrupting air and rail traffic and leading to water logging in many areas.

The city received 60.77 mm rainfall since yesterday. Colaba in south Mumbai received 78.6 mm and suburban Santacruz
received 95.0 mm, the MET department said.

Train services on the Western line were running late by 10-15 minutes whereas on the Central line, trains were delayed by 15-20 minutes.

Airline sources said there was an average delay of one-and-a-half to two hours in flight operations due to heavy rains.

"The start-up delay is around one-and-a-half to two hours due to congestion caused by heavy rains and strong winds," they said.

However, the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said, "There is an average delay of half-an-hour
to 40 minutes across flights."

Five flights have been diverted, including one Air India Chennai flight, the sources said.

Water logging has been reported at Dadar in central Mumbai, Cadbury Junction, Hind Mata and other areas, civic officials said.

Heavy rainfall is expected to continue in the city with strong gusty winds and thundershowers in parts of city and suburbs, the weatherman said.

The BMC has today alerted a high tide of 4.70 metres at 1521 hours.

"Any tide above 4.5 metres is coupled with heavy rains and is a matter of concern," joint municipal commissioner SS Shinde told PTI.

Another tide of 4.07 metres is expected at 1421 hours, the civic body said.

"We appeal to Mumbaikars not to venture into the sea and stay away from the coastline area as a high tide has been predicted today," Shinde said.

The civic body had earlier said that the city would witness high tides measuring about 4.70 metres till June 17.

In the month of June, there will be tides from June 13 to 17 measuring between 4.58 m to 4.73 m, the BMC had said.

On July 26, 2005, the metropolis saw unprecedented floods as 944 mm of rainfall coincided with a 4.48 m tide.

World’s tallest residential building at Lower Parel

The city’s skyline is all set to play host to the world’s tallest residential building with Lodha Developers announcing the construction of a 117-storey tower in Lower Parel on Tuesday. Once ready in 2014, the 450-mt (1450 ft) highrise will dwarf the existing tallest residential building Q1, which is 323 mt (1058 ft) high, in Gold Coast, Australia. The 80-storey Q1 was built in 2005.

The half-a-kilometre tall structure will come up on the defunct 17-acre Shrinivas Mill plot in Lower Parel. Titled World One, the building will be part of the Rs 2000-crore Lodha Place project which comprises two other residential towers— a mall and a commercial building.

The skyscraper will have a total of 300 apartments and will have three and four bedroom flats, private villas with individual pools as well as duplexes measuring 10,000 sq ft. The flats come with exorbitant price tags of Rs 7.5 crore to Rs 50 crore.

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Abhisheck Lodha, managing director of Lodha Group, said the project would cater to the Mumbaiites’ aspirations to a global lifestyle. Drawing a parallel with the Empire State Building as a symbol of America’s rise in the 1930s and more recently the Petronas Twin Towers and Shanghai World Financial Center representing the rise of Asia, the developer said World One would emerge as a landmark for Mumbai .

“Every global city is made memorable by its architectural landmarks. Be it the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Opera House in Sydney or the Empire State Building in New York, these vibrant forms reflect the passion and culture of the city they are located in. We are confident that World One will come to represent India’s quest for excellence in the economic and cultural arenas,” said Lodha.

The project is being designed by the New York-based architects Pei Cobb Freed and Partners, who have earlier worked on projects like the Grand Louvre Expansion and Modernization (Paris), the Bank of China Tower (Hong Kong) and the John Hancock Tower (Boston).

The luxury tower will have a three level 20,000 sq ft clubhouse and spa, 80,000 sq ft sports club and five acres of landscaping. It will also house an open-to-air observatory at a height of 1000 ft above the city providing an unhindered view of the Arabian Sea and the cityscape. The developers claim that the view from this height will extend as far as 60 km. This is the distance at which are located the city’s far flung suburbs like Badlapur on eastern side and Virar on the Western side.

The building has been registered for a Gold LEED certification with the Green Building Council. The highrise will have green features like rainwater harvesting and water recycling facilities, provisions to use solar energy for common area lighting and water heating, and facility to recycle garbage.

Additional director general of police’s car catches fire, no casualties

MUMBAI: Additional director general of police (traffic) Arup Patnaik had a close shave when his official car caught fire in south Mumbai on Monday.

The incident took place near the traffic junction off the University of Mumbai - while he was on his way from the Old Customs House, where the office of the Highway Traffic is located, to Mantralaya, the state secretariat here.

The incident took place at around 11.45 am. Prima facie, it appears that the fire was because of a short-circuit. Soon after the incident, a team of officials from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad reached the spot to check. Experts from the Motor Transport (MT) and the car manufacturer are examining the car to know the cause of the fire.

Patnai has been earlier the joint commissioner of police (law and order) in Mumbai. He is also a contender for the post of new Mumbai Police chief.

Patnaik, his operator Santosh Pawar and the car driver, Bagal Kote, recieved minor burns while the car was completely gutted. Soon after the three smelt petrol, they stopped the car and got out.

When Patnaik bent down to check, he saw the petrol leaking from the engine had made a puddle below the chassis. The petrol suddenly caught fire and in seconds the car was engulfed in it.

Katrina Kaif ignores security, hails local cab

Mumbai, Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is said to be becoming a security hazard to herself, and her latest disregard for all rules of self-preservation takes the cake.

On Monday morning when Katrina was required to fly to Bangalore for an event with her “Raajneeti” co-star Ranbir Kapoor, she just hopped into a taxi with her hand-luggage and took off. Much to the shock of the cabbie who had no clue about the ’star’ passenger he was carrying until he looked into his rear view mirror.

“But what’s the big deal about hopping into a cab to rush to the airport? Thousands of girls do it all the time. What’s there to get hyper? My driver was late because he got caught in a traffic snarl,” Katrina, 25, told IANS.

“If I had waited any more, I would’ve missed my flight. So I waved for a cab hopped in and zipped off.”

While Katrina cracks up at the recollection of the moment when the cabbie spotted her in the rear, her “Raajneeti” crew were far from amused when they saw her hop out of a cab unaccompanied.

Ranbir and director Prakash Jha were seen soundly ticking her off for her disregard for security rules.

Releasing Friday, multi-starrer “Raajneeti” is a dark political thriller that will highlight behind-the-scenes happenings in the corridors of power.

In fact, Katrina has always disregarded security threats.

Some time ago when hordes of young and old people had descended on her at a public gathering, she had fobbed off the security arrangements made by the organisers, arguing: “They love me. They can never harm me.”

The actress has been indulging in such reckless security-adventures much too often these days. According to a close friend, she takes off on her own, usually accompanied by her trusted driver and no other companion just for a spin far away to drive off loneliness.

What concerns people close to Katrina is her utter obliviousness to obvious security dangers.

“Katrina doesn’t realise the effect that her solitary presence in crowded places can have on people. Hopping into a cab early morning in Mumbai when there are no cops around is just not done. But she refuses to believe anyone would harm her,” a close friend said.

The British actress lives on her own here and her latest adventure-ride to the airport on her own has left her family far from amused. Her youngest sister Isabel, who has been studying cinema in the US, may cut short her acting course to join Katrina in Mumbai.

It seems Katrina’s days of zipping off on her own are nearing an end, thanks to the timely intervention of her family.

Mumbai, Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is said to be becoming a security hazard to herself, and her latest disregard for all rules of self-preservation takes the cake.

On Monday morning when Katrina was required to fly to Bangalore for an event with her “Raajneeti” co-star Ranbir Kapoor, she just hopped into a taxi with her hand-luggage and took off. Much to the shock of the cabbie who had no clue about the ’star’ passenger he was carrying until he looked into his rear view mirror.

“But what’s the big deal about hopping into a cab to rush to the airport? Thousands of girls do it all the time. What’s there to get hyper? My driver was late because he got caught in a traffic snarl,” Katrina, 25, told IANS.

“If I had waited any more, I would’ve missed my flight. So I waved for a cab hopped in and zipped off.”

While Katrina cracks up at the recollection of the moment when the cabbie spotted her in the rear, her “Raajneeti” crew were far from amused when they saw her hop out of a cab unaccompanied.

Ranbir and director Prakash Jha were seen soundly ticking her off for her disregard for security rules.

Releasing Friday, multi-starrer “Raajneeti” is a dark political thriller that will highlight behind-the-scenes happenings in the corridors of power.

In fact, Katrina has always disregarded security threats.

Some time ago when hordes of young and old people had descended on her at a public gathering, she had fobbed off the security arrangements made by the organisers, arguing: “They love me. They can never harm me.”

The actress has been indulging in such reckless security-adventures much too often these days. According to a close friend, she takes off on her own, usually accompanied by her trusted driver and no other companion just for a spin far away to drive off loneliness.

What concerns people close to Katrina is her utter obliviousness to obvious security dangers.

“Katrina doesn’t realise the effect that her solitary presence in crowded places can have on people. Hopping into a cab early morning in Mumbai when there are no cops around is just not done. But she refuses to believe anyone would harm her,” a close friend said.

The British actress lives on her own here and her latest adventure-ride to the airport on her own has left her family far from amused. Her youngest sister Isabel, who has been studying cinema in the US, may cut short her acting course to join Katrina in Mumbai.

It seems Katrina’s days of zipping off on her own are nearing an end, thanks to the timely intervention of her family.

Two youth knocked dead in Mumbai

Two youths were allegedly killed after being knocked down by a luxury bus on a flyover bridge at Lower Parel in central Mumbai, police said Thursday.

Sachin Jadhav (23) and Pradeep Salunkhe (24), heading to Dharavi area on a bike, were hit by a luxury bus on the flyover bridge late Wednesday night following which the two sustained injuries. The driver along with his vehicle escaped the spot after the accident, police said.

The two youngsters had head injuries and were bleeding profusely. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead before admission, they added.

No helmet was found at the site of the incident, indicating they were not following safety measures, police said. Traffic police have made mandatory for bike riders to wear helmets in the city.

A case against unidentified persons was registered for causing death of a person due reckless driving, police said adding that a probe was on.

Delhi Traffic Police Makes Facebook Debut

For the New Delhi resident, heavy traffic jams, accidents, poor coordination at traffic signals are everyday fare. While some of us have learnt not to react, there is now a forum that enables the Delhi citizen to ask questions, offer suggestions and become “fans” – all on the recently launched Delhi Traffic Police Facebook page. In just three days, it crossed 1000 fans and now has 1,713 people who “like” the page.

While the aim seems to have been to set up a strong two-way communication channel with citizens, image building for the Commonwealth Games, which the city will host in October, is clearly an objective too.

“Management of traffic in Delhi, during Commonwealth Games, will be a big challenge as well as a great opportunity,” the police say on the page. “Delhi Traffic Police cannot possibly succeed without the active participation and co-operation of all road users in Delhi.”

This page allows Delhi road users to request police presence in certain areas, make complaints, and ask questions, for example about the fines for different traffic offenses. A few have also expressed their appreciation for the work of the traffic police.

“We have launched this page to know the views of the public and establish a flow of communication with the residents of Delhi,” says Mr. Rajan Bhagat, spokesperson for the Delhi Police.

“We need suggestions to improve. Every comment cannot be an appreciation, thus we are looking into the problems faced by the residents of Delhi and this is a new channel,” added Mr. Bhagat.

The page administrators encourage the followers of this page to send their grievances toinfo@delhittrafficpolice.nic.in.

When asked about the response, Mr. Bhagat said, “The response has been great, we have been receiving a number of emails and are trying to respond to each grievance as quickly as possible.”

The page also acts as a traffic monitoring service of sorts, with Delhi traffic information posted on an hourly basis by both the police and Facebook users, with messages like, “Traffic obstruction at GT Karnal road as one HTV broke down” or “Vehicle has been removed and traffic normalized.”

Such updates have received numerous “Facebook likes” and have also inspired Facebook members to post traffic updates from wherever they are.

Mr. Lalit Kumar Sharma, the administrator of the page was very upbeat as he said, “We can change, together, step by step.”

Going by the We Hate Mumbai Traffic Police Facebook page, the Mumbai Traffic Police would do well to follow suit.

Fresh veggies at the break of dawn

When you have to wake up at 4.30 am to go the bhaji market, the stress doesn’t let you sleep very well. Thoughts of piles of palak, coriander, lettuce and lime aren’t exactly a turn on when you flop under the sheets at 1 am. Instead, you dream of a capsicum genie, beetroots frowning down at you and onions whispering conspiratorially.

But the next morning is a completely different veggie game.

The area outside Plaza theatre, at the foot of the Dadar Bridge is a blanket of green sprinkled with a few reds and bright yellows. By 4.30 amapproximately 20 trucks filled with greens rumble in from Navi Mumbai’s APMC market. As Mumbai’s first traffic jam starts, you know its time for business.

In half and hour, by 5 am, the maal is unloaded and as the smell of fresh vegetables acts as coffee, money is already exchanging hands. The place is swarming with hoteliers who want to pick a good bargain. “Half an hour’s business here is worth half a day’s at the regular market,” says Shankar handing out four kilos of palak to Mohan Rane, a bhajiawala at Matunga who claims office-goers swear by his palak pakodas for breakfast each morning.

It’s the same story with another restaurateur from Bandra who comes to Dadar each morning, not only because it’s cheaper but simply because when he started out with a small vada-pav shack, he formed a bond with Mohan, a 55-year-old bhajiwala who refuses to spare time to have a conversation. “Mohan is my lucky charm,” says the guy picking up bails of onions, coriander, a tokri of lime and fresh garlic.

Once the restaurateurs are done with their wholesale haggling, and as the sun brightens the scene by 5.45 am, it’s time for housewives, maids and butlers to make their way to the bridge. As smaller bargains of a couple of kilos are struck, most vendors are already shouting out rates so that they can start clearing off. Says Ritu Parekh, a Mahim resident, who comes here every alternate morning, “I jog at Shivaji Park from 5 am to 7 am. After a couple of rounds, I get bored. That’s why I drive over to pick up the fresh veggies and then go back and jog again.”

By 6 am, it’s time for the Mahiyar Adenwalas of Dadar to arrive. Adenwala buys only from Savitabai. She is the only one who will sell 50 gm ginger-garlic, ½ kg onions, Rs 12 worth methi. “I walk my dog Sassoon every morning, and buying vegetables is a good way getting exercise,” says Adenwala as Savitabai indulges her customer of five years.

For Lakshmi S, a Borivli resident who works at Parel, the Dadar market is reason for her to get some time to herself. “I come to the market every Friday pick up groceries for the week and drop them at my office by 7 am. For the next two hours before its office time, I am free to do what I want,” says Lakshmi who mostly spends the time catching up on the novel she has been trying unsuccessfully to complete for the last one week.

By 6.30 am almost all vendors have wrapped up, are sweeping the street, settling down for their first glass ofchai and maybe a samosa-pav. The chaos is now calm. “My day’s business is complete,” says Eravati, “Now, I can relax for the rest of the day.”

To me, the market brings fond memories. Of picking up friends at the Dadar Parsi Colony to go for picnics and trips out of town. And somehow the fragrance of fresh green shall always be entangled with the sweet, sticky, joyous smell hot jalebis being fried at the other end of the bridge.

But, it’s 7 am and the fantasy is over. The green-red-yellow carpet is replaced almost instantly by grey concrete.

Did the vegetable genies wave a magic wand or did a market really complete a day’s business in under one pre-dawn hour?

With a defunct CCTV, Mumbai highway turns hotspot for robbers

The Vakola junction in Mumbai is fast emerging as the chosen spot for robbers in the city, with two major highway robberies, to the tune of Rs 5 crore, taking place in less than 10 days.

Police officials attribute this to the defunct CCTV camera at the junction -- a fact that robbers seem to be aware of.

On May 2, diamonds worth Rs 2.90 crore were stolen from Rakesh Sharma, who was on his way to Kalbadevi. Eight days later, Tapan Kumar Mazi was heading to South Mumbai from the airport, when two bike-borne robbers accosted him at Vakola junction and left with 10 kg gold.
In both cases, the modus operandi was clear -- the robbers followed the victims, in a car in Sharma's case and on a bike in Mazi's, and then forced them to halt at Vakola junction, where they were confronted and made to give up their valuables.

"The robbers seem to be aware that the CCTV is not working at the junction and hence they trail the victims up to that point before confronting them. The CCTV, installed after 26/11, belongs to the traffic department and we can do nothing about it," said a police officer.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to apprehend or even identify the people behind either of the robberies. The victims couldn't give the police any descriptions and the CCTV didn't yield anything.

When contacted, DCP Brijesh Singh refused to comment on the defunct CCTV. "Investigations are on to solve the cases," was all he said.

Bandra residents hit the streets, snoop on unruly pub crawlers

MUMBAI: If you plan to party in one of the nightclubs that have mushroomed in Bandra over the past few months, be extra careful about your traffic behaviour even if there are no khaki-clad men in sight. For, residents of the area, fed up with the unruly behaviour of drunk revellers, have taken it upon themselves to keep their roads safe from the dangers of rash driving and utter chaos.

Bandra residents have been complaining that traffic snarls and noise pollution levels escalated tremendously since Escobar opened in December 2009, at the junction of Linking Road and 28th Road, which already housed two restobars, Dhanraj and On Toes. After news of Poison reopening in the form of Royalty made the rounds, residents decided it was time to call it a day. In fact, such was the menace that they were forced to form the advanced locality management (ALM), Revival Citizens' Group, only so that their problems would be taken seriously.

"Individual complaints made to the local and traffic police were brushed aside. We needed to get together and form a group, so that we would be taken seriously. Then, when we still didn't get any response, we started patrolling the streets ourselves," said Manuela Saldanha, secretary of the ALM. "At any given point in time, there have been at least 30-40 people stepping out of their homes on Friday and weekends, stopping cars from zipping into no-entry zones. We have not got out in the last week, but we have noticed a drop in the chaos," she added.

Because of these clubs, residents said they find it difficult to keep their minds calm, with loud music and vibration often going on till as late as 2 am. "The lanes are very narrow and both the sides are lined with cars. Even after the clubs shut down, people are drunk and shouting on top of their voices. The cars make too much noise as well. It becomes hellish at nights," said resident Nitin Gokarn.

The month-long patrolling has already had a good fallout. Not only has Escobar shut down citing reasons of renovation, but traffic snarls in the vicinity have also reduced. Each time they caught a car parking in front of a no-parking board, or even entering a no-entry zone, they would call a traffic police official, and ask him to take up the issue. "Since we didn't have any authority, we couldn't ask people to produce their driving licences. But we got help from the traffic police. We'd call them each time we found offenders, and their cars would be towed away, and their licences taken," said Saldanha

Heavy vehicles still hold sway on Ghodbunder Rd

Flyover construction prompted curbs, cops claim to have booked violators

Contrary to the claims of traffic police, residents of Ghodbunder Road have alleged that traffic and heavy-axle vehicles are passing along this road blatantly, since the work on the three flyovers on the stretch began.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) undertook the construction of three flyovers on Kapurbavdi Junction, Majiwada and Patlipada around six months ago. This, the residents believe, has led to a major disruption of traffic along the stretch.
Taking the hassles faced by the residents into account, the Thane traffic police disallowed the passage of multi-axle and heavy vehicles on Ghodbunder Road in the day time. “Traffic police claim that they have banned the movement of heavy vehicles here. But that is not true,” said Mohnish Acharya, resident of Ghodbunder Road.
As per the data provided by the Thane Traffic Police, close to 700 vehicles pass through Ghodbunder Road every hour. The entry for heavy vehicles such as containers, trailers and tankers has been restricted in the TMC limits from Gaimukh Octroi Naka from 7am to 10pm. For all four-wheeler goods vehicles, the entry is banned from 7am to 1pm and 5pm to 10 pm.
Bhagyashree Bhagwat, a resident, added, “The point is authorities are callous.”
Though the residents are miffed with the callous attitude of the civic body, the authorities beg to differ. Sudhir Dabhade, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Thane, said, “Traffic scenario has been brought under control. At times, people mistake a truck or tempo for a heavy vehicle, but so is not the case.”
“Dumpers and vehicles carrying cement too move along this stretch, but their movement cannot be restricted taking the nature of the work into account,” he added.
The traffic police claim that 80% of heavy and multi-axle vehicles follow this norm while those who flout the law have to pay a penalty. More than 600 cases have been registered against vehicles who fail to abide by time limit.

Rude cabbies, auto drivers? Send an email

Mumbai: Don’t fret if a taxi or autorickshaw driver refuses to give you a ride and you can’t spot anyone in khaki to teach the driver a lesson. You can simply go home or office or the nearest cyber cafe, log yourself online and mail a complaint to the transport commissioner’s e-mail address, tcmaharashtra@yahoo.com.

Transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav, who heads all the regional transport offices (RTO)s, wants the public to directly interact with him and apprise him of the problems they face while hiring a taxi or autorickshaw in Mumbai. The complaints could be about anything: refusal to ply short distance, excess fare charged/tampered meters, fake tariff cards, misconduct by drivers or any other complaint.

“Citizens can send me their complaints over the net. I will mark them to the respective RTOs and ensure that prompt action is taken,’’ Jadhav told TOI. He said the RTOs had the manual system of receiving written complaints by post. “At present, one can send a complaint on a postcard by mentioning the offence of the driver, the vehicle registration number and the place/date/time of offence. But now, with almost everybody having access to computer, complaints can be sent over the internet,’’ he said. “I have given out my email id so that the common man does not have to run from pillar to post. However, complainants should be specific about their grievances and should provide us with all the details of an incident.’’

Jadhav, who took charge as the transport commissioner four months ago, is keen on modernising the transport department. One of his first projects is the setting up of a high-tech control room, which provides 24-hour helpline for taxi and autorickshaw commuters. “I have already sent a proposal to the state government to sanction funds for the control room. We will train our staff to handle complaints and help commuters in distress round-the-clock,’’ he
stated. The department is also discussing with MTNL for a toll-free number.

The department has another email address where commuters can send their complaints. The address—transportgrievance@mahatranscom.in—is being accessed by a dedicated emplyee, who co-ordinates with the RTO offices across the city. “We welcome the transport commissioner’s decision to have a personalised email for redressing public grievances,’’ said civic activist Krishnaraj Rao.

Monorail to reduce traffic, pollution in city

The commissioning of country’s first monorail is expected to considerably cut down traffic on Mumbai’s roads and reduce pollution as well. As per estimates drawn by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), BEST bus trips could go down by 5,000 a day, while, in the case of taxis and autorickshaws, it could go down by 10,000 once the monorail is operational.
“Monorail will, for sure, help save large quantity of fuel used for buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws and private vehicles. The safe, air-conditioned and comfortable mono is expected to attract most of the private vehicle owners as it will cover a 21-km distance from Chembur to Jacob Circle via Wadala in about 35-40 minutes. This ride will also cut down on fuel expenditure, travel time and parking woes faced by private vehicle owners,” said Ratnakar Gaikwad, Metropolitan Commissioner.

“It will reduce 5,000 BEST bus trips, 10,000 taxi and auto-rickshaw trips during a day, as monorail will accommodate 550 commuters per trip,” said Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner. The monorail is expected to ferry over 2 lakh commuters every day.

According to the MMRDA, since monorail does not require any fossil fuel, it remains free of air pollution and as it runs on a narrow 0.8-metre beam on rubber tyres, it makes little noise.

On the operational front, it will use regenerative braking which means when the train brakes, it passes on the electric power back to the system which can be used by other trains running on the system at that time. This would save about 25% power. The monorail will act as a feeder to high capacity Mass Rapid Transit Systems like suburban railways and metro rail services and will add to the public transportation network in the city.

The Rs 2,460-crore project is being designed and built by Larsen & Toubro and M/s SCOMI Engineering, Malaysia.

Motormen's agitation paralyses Mumbai

MUMBAI: Over seven million commuters, including office-goers and students, were severely hit Tuesday, the second day of the ongoing agitation by motormen manning Mumbai's crucial suburban trains.

The agitation by over 600 motormen on the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR), compelled the railways to issue a rare advisory Tuesday morning.

"People may undertake (train) journey only if it's very important," said a bulk SMS with a helpline No. 10721 to assist stranded commuters.

The motormen have been on a hunger strike since 6 am on Monday and are demanding a pay hike among other things. Their strike led to complete chaos in the city during the evening peak hour traffic on Monday.

Sensing the critical situation, a grim Chief Minister Ashok Chavan indicated that he would take up the commuters' matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

While hundreds of commuters managed to reach their homes late Monday, the situation was worse Tuesday morning with the railways announcing the cancellation of nearly 80 percent of the total 2,000 daily services.

The railways resorted to desperate - but insufficient - measures like permitting people to travel in long-distance trains and making them halt at all suburban stations.

The railways are also making alternative arrangements to grapple with the agitation, considered the worst in Mumbai since 1974.

The BEST and MSRTC chipped in to help the stranded commuters by deploying additional services in the city and elsewhere.

Mumbai University announced that any student who was delayed for the 40-odd final examinations need not panic, they would be permitted extra time to write their papers.

The motormen's agitation has had a cascading effect on Mumbai roads and highways which have been plagued by ugly traffic snarls since Monday night - and the situation was repeated Tuesday morning.

In fact, the railway agitation managed to overshadow the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case, in which the verdict pronouncing Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab guilty was delivered Monday.

Roads clogged with desperate commuters

The motorman’s strike and cancellation of trains caused huge traffic jams across the city. The traffic police said every lane in the city was packed and the traffic was stagnant for over eight hours.

“This traffic jam will continue until the crowd on the roads decrease,” said a traffic officer.

The traffic police deployed 1,500 personnel on the city roads to control the traffic and maintain a smooth flow after the trains got cancelled and commuters opted for road transport.

“Every road is blocked and we are trying to deploy as many policemen to ease out the traffic,” said a traffic policeman.

“We are trying our best to help people reach their destinations and see to it that the traffic flow is smooth,” said Ashok Takalkar, assistant commissioner of police (traffic).

“It took us two hours to reach Dadar from Mumbai Central. All train commuters had crowded the Dadar TT circle waiting for buses and taxis,” said Sujata Pandit, a computer software designer who works at Nariman point.

“The policeman are shoving everybody in whatever vehicle they can. There is chaos in CST as commuters are panicking and running helter-skelter in search for vacant taxis or buses,” said a commuter outside the CST.

Commuters got into the first available vehicle to get home. They asked for lifts from private trucks and tempos.

“There was total chaos. We tried to accommodate commuters in all types of vehicles. Our main aim was to reduce as many people as possible on the roads and not allow the numbers to stagnate,” said a traffic constable at Matunga who was stopping an empty truck to let people board it.

“People created utter chaos as they were desperate to reach their destinations on time,” added the constable who had been trying to stuff people into a bus.

Cops step in to clear the roads

Taking serious note of the traffic congestion and large scale violation of traffic rules across city, the Navi Mumbai police have decided to impose restrictions on vehicle parking in the satellite city.
Parking restrictions will come in force at Kharghar, Belapur and Sanpada where people are facing problems due to illegal parking. A notification to this effect has been issued and the restrictions will come into force from May 1.
"After a survey conducted in these areas, it was decided to impose restrictions to streamline the traffic," ACP (Traffic) Shrikant Dhivare said. There is an urgent need to streamline traffic near Bank of India Square, Navrang Circle, Gokhale High School, Kharghar Police Scorner and Shilp Square in Kharghar, Radhakrishna Hotel, Mahesh Hotel, Ashvith Hotel, Croma Electronics to Killa Junction, Total Car Mall in Sector 15, Belapur and Sanpada signal to Annapurna Square. "We have decided to implement P1 P2 system of parking in Kharghar. The entire area would be no parking zone for medium and heavy vehicles," Dhivare said.
The commercial vehicles supplying goods to business establishments on the road will be allowed parking between 10 pm and 8 am, while P1 P2 parking system would be in force from 8 am to 10 pm everyday. Similar restrictions would be imposed on roads in Sector 15, Belapur.
"It has been observed that people going to APMC market from Sanpada station face severe problems due to heavy vehicles parked along the road. With an objective to solve the issue, the entire stretch of the road has been converted into no parking zone from 6 am to 10 am and 6 pm to 8 pm," Dhivare said. Many trucks are illegally parked along the road for loading and unloading and minor repairs. This leads to traffic congestion, Dhivare added.

Ambulance service on Eastern Express highway

The Mumbai traffic police launched a dedicated ambulance service on Eastern Express Highway on Thursday. This highway is Mumbai’s most accident-prone stretch, claiming 190 lives in 2009.

Installed with a Global Positioning System (GPS), the ambulance will be stationed at Vikhroli Bridge so that it can answer distress calls from the stretch towards Vashi as well as Thane.

“The ambulance is equipped with four beds, an oxygen tank and facilities regular ambulances don’t have,” said Sanjay Barve, joint commissioner of traffic police. “There will also be a paramedic on board.”

The service is supported by Ziquitza Health Care Ltd. The number for the service is 1298 or 9820200180.

Mumbai's Eastern Freeway Update

Mumbai’s first twin traffic tunnel is coming up at the foot of a hill at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Workers are toiling to complete the project before December end. The twin tunnels are approximately 500 metres each. They are 17-metre wide and 10-metre in height and will have four carriageways in each tunnel. Commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Ratnakar Gaikwad, said the twin tunnel is part of the four-lane Eastern Freeway Project which starts near P D’Mello Road and will go on to the Mumbai Port Trust road before joining the Eastern Express Highway via the Anik Panjrapole Link Road near Wadala. MMRDA officials said the cost of the twin tunnels will amount to Rs 54 crore while the Anik Panjrapole Link Road will cost Rs 221 crore. The cost of the entire Eastern Expressway will come to Rs 531 crore. The officials said the project’s second phase will link the Anik Panjrapole Link Road with Ghatkopar, making access for the people who live in the eastern suburbs easier. Joint metropolitan commissioner, Ashwini Bhide, said the land for the project has been acquired from the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and BARC. “The MMRDA had to re-route the HPCL aviation fuel pipeline and a new boundary wall was built for the BARC land.’’ Bhide said the freeway has two of its sections built as an elevated bridge. It has 7 km of its roadway through the Mumbai Port Trust land as an overhead bridge. A 3-km elevated section at the Ghatkopar end has been planned. “Once completed, the 21-km Eastern Freeway Project will make the commute easier for people who travel between south Mumbai and the eastern suburbs,’’ she said.

Sexy Sameera troubled by Mumbai Police

The incident happened two days ago when hot babe sameera reddy ran into trouble with the Mumbai Traffic cops while she was driving through Santa Cruz airport. Sameera was driving on the highway and was caught by Traffic cop for talking to someone on mobile while driving.

Sameera answered him saying that she was singing song while listening to music on the phone. Police informed that she still broke the law and should pay for it. When Sameera agreed to pay, Police refused to write the receipt for same.

sameera reddy almost made a big mess out there and a traffic jam was on the cards. When some of the public recognized the heroine, cops tried to escape from the situation and Sameera was saved with out loosing a penny.

Airoli traffic to be diverted

Police officials take action after DNA Navi Mumbai raises issue
Taking serious note of the traffic congestion at Airoli, the city traffic police have decided to divert all the heavy vehicles plying on the road. Apart from this traffic wardens would be deployed in the area to control the traffic.
The vehicular traffic to and from Navi Mumbai via Airoli has been badly hit by the ongoing concretisation work of the road that began three days back. As a result it took around one-hour to reach Airoli Naka from The T-junction during rush hours since the entire traffic has been diverted to one side of the road. The work is likely to continue till the end of May.
After getting information about the bottleneck created in the area, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Shrikant Dhivare visited the spot and decided to take remedial measures to ease the traffic congestion.
"We had received information about acute traffic congestion in the area. The situation would be really critical during rush hours as thousands of vehicles would reach the spot at the same time," Dhivare said. City traffic police officials had a meeting with their counterparts in the civic body and also the representatives of Mahavir Road and Infrastructure Private Limited, which is building the road on Thursday evening to find out solution to the problem.
"We have now decided to divert all heavy vehicles passing through the area. Those coming from Mumbai would have to take left turn from T-junction and those coming from Belapur will be diverted to Thane via the Airoli flyover near Rabale police station," Dhivare said.
The decision that was implemented from Friday morning and the results were visible immediately as the vehicular movement during rush hour was considerably smooth.
Apart from the diversion of heavy vehicles, permanent barricades will be installed on the side of the road which is now open for traffic. "This will further help in regulating the traffic as the barricades will help in linear movement of vehicles. It has also been decided to deploy traffic wardens in the area," Dhivare said. As per the decisions taken in the meeting, the contractor will provide traffic wardens who will be deployed in the area to control the traffic round the clock. "The entire stretch of the road will be converted into no parking zone to further ease the traffic congestion due to vehicle parked there," Dhivare said.

Akshay rides bike to beat traffic

Akshay Kumar was scheduled to do a promotional shoot in Juhu, Mumbai. But his film shoot near Bhayander, on the outskirts of Mumbai, got delayed and he was running late. Reaching Juhu at the allotted time by car would’ve been an impossible task since it was peak traffic time. As Akshay is very particular about punctuality, he asked his assistant to get him a motorcycle. In classic khiladi style, Akshay put his helmet on and zoomed off his bike all the way to Juhu. And yes, he did manage to reach bang on time.

IPL final a nightmare for traffic cops

Tight security cordon will be in place for Apr 25 tie
With chances of Mumbai Indians making it to the finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) looking bright, the traffic wing of the Navi Mumbai police is gearing up to handle a lot of crowd and traffic on April 25, the day final match will be played at the DY Patil stadium in Nerul.
"If Mumbai Indians make it to the finals, we would definitely have a huge number of people coming here to witness the match. The bandobast and the security for the finals will be different from what we had during the other IPL matches. We will be reshuffling the staff. The deployment of police personnel for the final match will be more then. Special attention will be given to the parking system. The Amra Marg near the service road, which has so far not been used for parking will be put to use this time. Special spots have also been identified wherein more security will be provided. However, the decision on the security measures to be adopted for the final match will be taken soon," ACP (Traffic) Shrikant Dhivare said.
Additional force from State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) would also be pressed into service at the stadium during the match. Police personnel would be deployed at all the entry and exit points, apart from armed, unarmed personnel along with those in uniform and civil dress, at all the strategic points all over the stadium. Police officials will keep a tab on the situation with the help of close circuit television cameras installed all over the stadium, confirmed an official from traffic department.
We are preparing keeping in mind the huge traffic flow from Mumbai that would come to witness the show if Mumbai Indians make it to the finals.