Government clears 25 structures, reduced travel time from 1hr 20mins to 10mins.

During rush hours, most motorists used to take 1hr 20mins to clear Lower Parel railway station to the Doordarshan junction in Worli which is just 1.7kms. This is the chaos that Mumbaikars ended up walking to their destination because there was no way to find a taxi. Finally, on Saturday morning, the decades-old problem came to a close by removing about 25 structures mainly small shops from the roads. The trip from Lower Parel to Worli has been reduced to 10 minutes, from 1hr 20mins.

It comes a week after the public opening of the corridor of Bandra Kurla (BKC)-Chunabhatti. The 1.6 km long path that cuts across the Mithi River shortened travel time from more than 30 minutes to just over 2 minutes between BKC and Chunabhatti.

On Friday, almost 100 BMC workers were provided with two excavators and twenty trucks and worked to clear structures throughout the night, most of which were located on the 80-ft Pandurang Budhkar (PB) in Worli and the 60-ft Shankar Rao Naram Path at Lower Parel. A 20-member police team was deployed on both roads in anticipation of problems from structure owners. The owners were shifted to a lane near PB Marg, and alternate spaces or compensation was offered to those who are eligible, said the BMC.

Structures from the two stretches have produced nearly 4,000 sq. ft. of space on the two roads, according to the officials from the area. “Traffic between Worli and Elphinstone Road will also be improved,” said, Assistant Municipal Commissioner (G-South Ward) Sharad Ughade.

“PB Marg is a significant connector between the Worli and Elphinstone Road. The junction will be extended between PB Marg and Shankar Rao Naram Path Marg in Worli. This will facilitate traffic to the Lower Parel Ganpatrao Kadam Marg,” he said. The two main roads will also allow BMC to create space for parking. “People from commercial hubs in the Kamala Mills and the Century Mills Compounds are to be given parking during the evenings,” a civic body official said.