Now, khataras are slowing down work on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway

Abandoned vehicles or khataras along the MumbaiAhmedabad highway particularly at Sativali Pelhar and Chinchoti pose a hindrance to the infra firmrsquos current white topping project Despite efforts to notify police through letters their requests have been ignored the firm allegedDaily commuters ambulances carrying patients to Mumbai school children as well as people heading to the airport from Palghar district would often get stuck in huge traffic jams due to the ongoing concreting work on the sixlane NH48 In a bid to alleviate traffic woes the infrastructure firm has halved its daily white topping workDaily commuters have to bear the brunt of dustAshok Sharma managing director of Nirmal Buildinfra Private Limited which is undertaking the work on the existing bituminous carriageway and service road told midday ldquoWe have been following up with the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police for the last three to four months requesting them to remove the abandoned vehicles so that we can seamlessly undertake white topping work We have also written multiple letters to the police but the vehicles have not been movedrdquo Sharma said ldquoThere are long stretches of 400metres at Pelhar Sativali and Chinchoti where abandoned vehicles are gathering dustrdquo he addedAlso Read Mumbai Premature babyrsquos ambulance trapped parents clear path to save childrsquos lifeDust storm adds pollution woesDue to the ongoing project daily commuters have to bear the brunt of dust and gravel which further reduces visibility triggering massive inconvenience to people at large The strong wind adds to the commutersrsquo woes on NH48Khataras line the stretch of the highwayMeanwhile a senior National Highways Authority of India NHAI official requesting anonymity said ldquoMany abandoned damaged and under repair vehicles have been carelessly parked on the MumbaiAhmedabad highway and the service lanes This not only poses a threat to road users but also causes massive traffic jams or slows down vehicular movement on the NH48 These vehicles are a hazard on the highway where road users often complain about traffic snarls But the MBVV police are taking no steps to remove these vehiclesrdquoIssue not raisedThe MBVV police commissioner Madhukar Pandey said ldquoWe had a multiagency coordination meeting last fortnight but they or nobody else raised such issuesrdquo ldquoThe infrastructure firm can simply inform us before they undertake white topping work so that we can remove the abandoned accidental and seized vehicles whose auctioning is underwayrdquo said a traffic officialNo space for truckers to restA transporter Harbans Singh Nanade spokesperson of All India Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangh said ldquoThe truckers cover long distances and are bound to take rest But there is no dedicated lane for the truckers on the MumbaiAhmedabad highway where they can park their vehicles and relax their musclesrdquoReduced daily workThe traffic congestion forced authorities concerned to conduct backtoback meetings to smoothen the flow on the busy sixlane highway ldquoWe were told in the meeting to reduce the workflow so that the inconvenience of people can be reducedrdquo said SharmaTraffic snarls on the HH48 PicsHanif PatelIn December the highway remained standstill after the infra firm had kickstarted the work To avoid the jam many vehicles on the highway had entered Vasai city where the arterial roads were blocked After facing massive brickbats from all the quarters the infra firm had to suspend their project for a few days in DecemberJanuaryldquoBefore the onset of monsoon the NHAI wanted the firm to complete white topping work equivalent to 75kms sixlane by March 31 but the firm had promised to complete work equivalent to 55 kms on the sixlane carriageway However now only 25 kms will be completedrdquo added SharmaStruggling for copsrsquo approvalThe contract amount is Rs 553 crore and the work is already commenced by the contractor on multiple fronts The project also includes three Vehicular Underpasses VUPs at Delhi Darba Pandurangwadi and at Sativalli to avoid accidents on the highway The infra firm alleged that they are yet to get approval from the traffic department of MBVV police to make Vehicular Underpasses VUPs at Delhi Darbar and Thakur MallldquoWe have been following up for the last four months with the MBVV traffic police but the cops have been delaying giving approval citing reasons like VIP movement due to upcoming LS polls Maratha morchas ongoing laying of water pipelines transport strike etcrdquo Sharma said The infra firm is confident to meet the target by May 2025 but the huge influx of traffic reduction in their progressive work and delay in administrative decisions are likely to push the completion of work beyond the set limit of 18 months for which the work started in midDecember last year