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.

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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.