Mumbai: The city of dreams is likely to have traffic nightmares as the Maratha quota march is all set to storm into Mumbai on January 26.
Although lakhs of protestors along with scores of vehicles are on their way to the metropolis, the traffic police is yet to disclose a detailed roadmap, if there is any, for handling the chaos apart from issuing a notification. On Tuesday, the mega rally was navigating its way through Pune.
Maratha protest march roadmap
The marchers are expected to enter via the Eastern Freeway in Wadala. They will be proceeding towards Azad Maidan in south Mumbai for an indefinite hunger, while Dadar’s Shivaji Park is another agitation venue. Spearheading the rally, Manoj Jarange-Patil had previously threatened that Marathas would be ‘all over the streets of Mumbai’ if the government failed to grant reservation.
The notification prohibited the plying of heavy vehicles on the south Mumbai routes during the morning and evening peak hours. Similarly, buses – interstate and inter-district along with trailers and trucks – will be restricted during the daytime, and will be allowed to ply from midnight to 7am. The notification also specified that no heavy vehicles will be permitted to enter or ply on the Eastern Freeway.
“For smooth traffic movement, all heavy vehicles are restricted to enter and ply on all types of roads in Mumbai city from 8am to 11.30am on southbound and 5pm to 9pm on northbound,” read the notification. It further said that all heavy vehicles are restricted to enter and ply on roads in south Mumbai from 7am till midnight. They can resume travel between midnight and 7am.
Traffic Schedule
Between 11.30am and 5pm, vehicles are permitted up to the Mallet Bunder junction on the P D’Mello Road using the BPT Road, Dadar TT Junction on the Dr B A Road, Tilak Road on the RAK Road, Ram Mandir Chowk on GD Ambedkar Marg, from Western Express Highway till Mahim Junction and from Senapati Bapat Marg up to the Matunga Road railway station. Emergency vehicles or those in essential services are exempted.
According to local traffic police at Azad Maidan, preparations are underway and the strategy will be finalised once the number of crowd and vehicles is determined. “Things will be clear once we know more about the convoy. For now, we are also arranging additional manpower to guard the situation,” an official said.
Given that January 26, when the march is set to enter the city, is a public holiday, the number of people using the Eastern Freeway and even from JJ Flyover to visit major tourist spots is likely to swell. The situation portends extreme traffic woes.
