Thane Traffic Update: Nodal Officer Appointed for Ghodbunder Road; Crackdown on Illegal Parking and Street Vendors on Service Roads

To tackle the long-standing traffic congestion on Ghodbunder Road, Thane Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao has proposed several immediate measures, including stricter enforcement of heavy vehicle regulations, deployment of additional traffic wardens, and the removal of illegal parking and street vendors from service roads. These solutions are expected to bring visible improvements within the next 15 days.

The proposals were discussed during a meeting held on Friday evening at the Thane Municipal Headquarters. The meeting was attended by MLA Pratap Sarnaik, representatives of Ghodbunder residents, and officials from the traffic police, municipal corporation, metro, MMRDA, and the Public Works Department.

Residents raised issues such as heavy vehicle timings, road conditions, parking on service roads, handcarts, signal systems, lane marking, flyover conditions, and traffic rule violations. They emphasized the hardships faced by citizens, especially schoolchildren.

The core team members representing the Ghodbunder road residents include: Shraddha Rai, Girish Patil, J N Vasanthi, Gurmeet Singh, Pankaj Sinha, Ravi Jain, Deven Acharya, Satish Pawar, Manish Thakkar, Anvesh Jain, and Krishna Pophale.

MLA Pratap Sarnaik supported the citizens' concerns and informed them about future projects to be implemented by the state government under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's leadership. He also stressed the need for strict enforcement of heavy vehicle timings and illegal parking regulations by the police.

Commissioner Rao stated that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is sensitive to Thane's issues and has directed all roads and flyovers to be pothole-free before Ganpati immersion.

The meeting resulted in several decisions, including:

1. Strict adherence to heavy vehicle entry regulations
2. Currently, 50 traffic wardens are assisting the traffic department, and an additional 100 wardens will be deployed immediately, particularly between Kapurbawdi and Gaimukh.
3. Traffic police and wardens to be stationed from 6 AM, with special duty hours from 6-10 AM and 5-9 PM
4. Immediate road improvements by the municipal corporation, with results expected within 15 days
5. Enhanced lane marking, signage, dividers, zebra crossings, and lighting
6. Removal of parking and handcarts from service roads
7. Appointment of Executive Engineer Sanjay Kadam as the nodal officer for coordination

Rai, a journalist and an initiator of the #JusticeForGhodbunderRoad Campaign, told LokmatTimes.com, "We put forth all our demands before the officials. They have promised to complete 70 to 80 percent of the work before Ganpati immersion."

When asked about the campaign that started in August, Rai elaborated, "Close to 2,000 people are connected with this campaign. Commuters started reaching out to us by sharing their stories, including incidents of people missing trains and flights due to the extreme traffic congestion on Ghodbunder Road. They amplified this message through social media. Later, the core team members went on the ground, conveyed our demands to each department, and sent letters. Yesterday, we went to meet the Chief Minister at his residence. However, due to his prior commitments, we were told that today a meeting would be held at the TMC headquarters along with all stakeholders. We will continue to cooperate with authorities and will fight for Ghodbunder Road until the desired results are achieved."

Patil, another core- team member stated, "We have conveyed to the Traffic DCP the need to restrict timings for heavy vehicles. He has assured us that fines will be imposed on heavy vehicles if rules are not followed."

TMC Commissioner Rao emphasized that the corporation takes full responsibility for Ghodbunder Road and will not shirk any duties in improving the situation.