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Traffic’s a major issue, locals rue apathy of authorities

R-South ward ( Kandivli East and West ) Poor maintenance of open space, illegal hawking zones continue to irk residents of the ward

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Traffic near Thakur Complex on Western Express Highway, Kandivli
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Overview

R-South ward covers Kandivli East and West, and includes Lokhandwala Township, Thakur Complex and Thakur Village. It also comprises Samata Nagar, Damu Nagar, Charkop, Mahavir Nagar, Dhanukar Wadi, Aarya Chanakya Nagar, Poisar, Rajaram and Ashok Nagar, Vadarpada, Dattani Park and Irani Wadi areas. 

The ward has both ends of the spectrum, several plush high-rises as well as slums. Thakur village, a rapidly developed locality, houses some of the tallest towers in Kandivli, while Lokhandwala township, developed over the last 15 years, has more than 40 plush residential societies.

The ward, however, lacks basic amenities. The civic body has failed to control illegal hawking and encroachments in Kandivli. Residents of Lokhandwala suffer chronic traffic jams at the entry point to the township, as the roads are not wide enough. It sometimes takes close to an hour for residents to reach the railway station or the  Western Express Highway, especially during peak hours. Recently, around 2,500 residents of Lokhanwala organised a peaceful march to protest against the civic body.

There are also more than 30 open spaces in R-South ward, but they are not maintained well by BMC. Activists in the past have protested against the issue of BMC handing over maintenance of open spaces to care takers. They have earlier complained that if open spaces are handed over to third parties for maintenance, they would be captured by political groups, and that the care takers will levy their own rules and regulations. Activists in Kandivli also recently protested on this issue outside the BMC headquarters.

Political scenario

Congress is dominant in the ward with six corporators out of a total 11. Three corporators are from BJP and two are from Shiv Sena. At present, the Member of Parliament from the ward is Gopal Shetty and MLAs Atul Bhatkhalkar and Yogesh Sagar are from the BJP. Prakash Surve of Shiv Sena represents some parts of R-South ward. 

After delimitation, the electoral wards in R-South ward have increased from 11 to 13 for the 2017 civic elections.

issues

There are major illegal hawking zones outside Kandivli railway station. Motorists take an hour to cross a distance of 500 metres. 

Mathura Das road and Akurli road witness heavy traffic jams, especially during peak hours. Both roads are 60 feet wide but too narrow to accommodate the number of vehicles in Kandivli. The subway below Western Express highway and Hanuman temple on Akurli road are two big bottlenecks for traffic jams.

The open spaces which are handed over to third parties for maintenance and are in good condition. However, other open spaces including Lokhandwala township are not maintained properly by the BMC. Many play grounds and gardens are in extremely poor condition.

The nearest fire station for Kandivli East is in the West. The long route takes more time and is a problem during emergency. 

Residents speak

Every couple of years, a new complex is built in Lokhandwala which increases around 1000 flats and 2000 to 3000 cars. Although, the BMC had widened the roads a few years ago the number of vehicles seem to rise drastically every year. Its high time the roads should be widened. But, the BMC does not want to demolish slums like Hanuman nagar which acts as a hurdle. The slums are vote banks and that is why the BMC does not wish to demolish them. There is no availability of a good hospital in Kandivli East.
—Vilas Kanchan, ALM and resident of Lokhandwala

We have protested against handing over of playground and gardens to caretakers and demanded that the civic body should take charge for maintenance. The older societies in Kandivli lack sufficient parking space. On many roads commercial vehicles are parked illegally. From the last two years we are demanding to get designated parking areas. With narrow roads and traffic, hawkers also cause problems in this ward. We have been advocating for revival of various retail market places which are lying unoccupied for the 4 to 5 years . 
—Vasant Patil, ALM-Kandivli

The official word

Assistant Municipal Commissioner of R-South ward SR Gaikwad said, “There is traffic issue in the ward and to ease it we have planned link roads and bridges. We have already submitted the plan for widening the stretch from the highway to Lokhandwala from 60 to 90 feet. The planned roads will be mentioned in the new development plan of the Municipal Corporation. Regarding hawking, our vans are at the station and we allow only legal hawkers to put their stall. We do catch hold of other hawkers and also make sure that the public gets sufficient space to walk. Some open spaces in the ward are handed to care takers and others are maintained by the BMC. If the municipal corporation takes a decision to not hand over any open spaces to third party, we will take back the open spaces from the care takers.”

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