Mumbai: Residents demand to restart right turn to Lokhandwala township to decongest Akurli Road in Kandivali

Mumbai: Fed up with daily traffic snarls, residents of Lokhandwala and a noted ad filmmaker have started an online petition asking for an urgent solution to traffic issues at Akurli Road, Kandivali (East).

Residents have suggested that the right turn at the exit of Western Express Highway (WEH) towards Lokhandwala township be opened again to decongest Akurli Road traffic. The petition is getting good a response with more than 280 endorsements to date.

Akurli Road connects Kandivali railway station to the WEH and many residential localities including large townships – including Thakur Village and Lokhandwala, among others – having a population of 3-4 lakh. This stretch of road also houses hospitals such as Sanchaiti Super Speciality Hospital and Vignaharta Multispeciality Hospital.

“Recently, barricades have been placed to stop the right turn at the underpass to go towards Lokhandwala at the WEH exit to Akurli Road while coming from BKC / south Mumbai. This is forcing the commuters to take a left turn (instead of a right) and drive an additional 400m to take a U-turn, causing prolonged traffic jams on both sides of an already crowded road,” said Mr Shashi Bhushan.

The 10-minute drive takes nearly half an hour, especially during the evening traffic rush. The same road also receives traffic from Kandivali (West) for commuters wanting to access the WEH and the localities of Thakur Village / Lokhandwala etc.

“I have been staying at Lokhandwala for about 17 years and traffic issues on Akurli Road have progressively become worse. Many volunteer groups of local residents have been raising concerns about the lack of traffic management, but the matter has not been addressed,” Mr Bhushan said, adding that the daily traffic congestion also results in vehicular pollution (both noise and air) which impacts the health and standard of living of residents in the area.

Meanwhile, police inspector Someshwar Kamathe of the Samta Nagar traffic division said, “This problem is occurring repeatedly because the width of the road has been the same for a decade, while the number of vehicles has increased to twice or thrice the amount. The narrow roads are the main cause of the problem, along with the slums which are located at both ends of the area, blocking routes and creating traffic congestion. We (traffic authorities) are doing our part of management, but the root cause is the slums and narrow roads which need to be looked at by the authorities concerned.”