Residents of Bhiwandi are voicing growing frustration over the city's severe traffic congestion and inaction from elected officials to address the problem. Commuters regularly face gridlock on major roads, particularly near Anjurphata, where poorly planned metro construction has left roads in disarray.
Residents criticize Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kapil Patil for neglecting infrastructure improvements despite promises of "vikas" (development). Some allege that opposition parties are also silent on the issue, prioritizing political gain over public welfare. They claim journeys as short as 500 meters can take 20-25 minutes due to traffic jams.
"People gave you their votes for development. Fix these roads or face public aggression in the 2024 elections," warned a local named Kamlesh Maru.
Maru mentioned that school students don't reach their schools on time, and there was one incident where a patient died in an ambulance due to a traffic jam. "It feels like the roads of rural areas are better than the roads of Bhiwandi. There are lots of potholes. We complained to RTO, MPs, MLAs, MMRDA, but no action," Maru added.
"We haven't seen Kapil Patil really working hard to address this issue for the last 10 years. Just before the elections, he holds a meeting at Oswal Hall. Not even the opposition parties are worried about this issue," said Neel Haria, a resident from Anjurphata.
Anjurphata, a residential area, is considered a prime location in Bhiwandi. Residents say there's inadequate inspection of Metro Line 5 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan). Haria said, "They made cement roads in 2020 and 2021. After making the cement roads, they dug out metro pillars. They damaged all the surrounding Cement-concrete (CC) roads. I have also written to the PMO. Later, I got a response from the Engineer of MMRDA named Atul Patil that they would resolve the matter. But only 10 per cent of the work has been done by the MMRDA to repair those roads."
Another resident pointed to uneven roads due to metro construction, causing accidents. A resident from the area said, "See the road's position - the metro contractor has dug it up for pillars and it's very uneven, resulting in accidents." Motorcyclists complain that they are getting into near-daily accidents due to potholes around construction sites. "Our government has no officers properly overseeing this unclaimed project," a resident lamented.
Traffic woes worsen due to allegations of Bhiwandi traffic police allowing multi-axle vehicles into the city during daytime hours for bribes, harassing ordinary citizens. With commutes ballooning – some report 30 minutes from Dhamankar Naka to Anjurphata – residents' frustrations mount against leaders who haven't addressed Bhiwandi's gridlock.
"My office is at Airoli. When I was returning back from my office at 9:30 pm on April 8, I was stuck for nearly 2 hours. Anjurphata Road was totally packed. I had to take a long route through Shilphata Road. Mumbra bypass was filled with all trucks. It was totally traffic management," Debargho Bhattacharyya, a local who lives at Tata Amantra in the Bhiwandi-Kalyan junction, told LokmatTimes.com.
Surprisingly, Bhattacharyya said his commute during Eid took only 25 minutes due to the holiday. He appealed to MPs and MLAs to improve Bhiwandi's infrastructure and facilitate easier commutes. "I pay 30 per cent tax, but we don’t get basic infrastructural developments. Already, some people are under job stress, and this additional traffic issue causes more frustration," Bhattacharyya added.