Thousands of villagers residing in Gavan, Jawle, Shelghar, Nhava, Nhavakhadi, Kopar, and Shivajinagar villages will get direct bus service from Panvel as a new road will be constructed after it was dug up during the widening of the Belapur-Uran road. After the construction of the road, the 70-year-old state transport (ST) bus route will become operational once again.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was running a bus service from Panvel bus depot to Nhava village while crossing Gavan, Jawle, Shelghar, Nhavakhadi, Kopar, and Shivajinagar along the recently developed Ulwe node. However, the bus service was stopped after road widening work was started around two years ago. The road was damaged completely and it became impossible for bus services to continue. Villagers were not happy as they had only the ST bus for direct connectivity.
Under the leadership of Congress leader Mahendra Gharat, a number of meetings were held with CIDCO and NHAI. Since the road widening work was underway, following demand from villagers backed by Gharat, a minor change was made in the work and an underpass was constructed for access to the road. However, even after the construction of the underpass, there was a lack of funds for the construction of the road. Finally, CIDCO sanctioned funds and a work order has been issued.
“The 70-year-old bus route will become operational once the road is constructed along the underpass. Thousands of villagers will benefit from this road work as they will have direct connectivity with Panvel and other areas,” said Gharat. On August 20, the foundation stone laying ceremony will be held near Shelghar village.
Hruydnath Koli, a resident of Kopar said that the ST bus service was the only public transport for going to Panvel. “Now, we have auto-rickshaws and many of us have our own vehicle. But there are villagers who completely rely on public transport,” Koli said.
