Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held an urgent meeting with the police, transport and public works department officials on Saturday and instructed them to take measures in view of the increasing traffic congestion in Thane city. Shinde, while giving instructions to complete the ongoing development works in Thane city before June 1, also ordered to make roads free of potholes and traffic jams.
The meeting was held at Shinde's residence in Thane where collector Ashok Shingare, police commissioner Jai Jeet Singh, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) commissioner Abhijit Bangar, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) joint managing director Anil Kumar Gaikwad, additional police commissioner Dattatray Karale, Dr. Punjabrao Ugle, deputy commissioner of traffic department Vinay Rathore and other senior officials were present. Shinde told officials, "Fill the potholes on the road immediately without considering who owns it. Development works are currently going on in many places in the MMR area and it has put a lot of pressure on the city of Thane, as a result of which there is a traffic jam in places. Also measures should be taken to avoid any trouble to the citizens during the rainy season.
Shinde said, "60 percent of the ongoing work on Bhiwandi-Kasheli road through MMRDA has been completed and this work should be completed before monsoon. The roads in Bhiwandi city which are bad should be repaired immediately through MMRDA. Also the ongoing road work on the Mumbai-Nashik highway through MSRDC should be completed before the monsoon to break the deadlock on the Saket-Kharegaon bridge.