Encroachment hits road-widening work on highway

NASHIK: Traffic snarls are the order of the day along a stretch of the Mumbai-Agra Highway and its twin service roads, thanks to encroachments that seem to force down vehicle movement to a trickle, not to mention causing inordinate delay to the road-widening work undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). While the NHAI had managed to remove some of these encroachments during drives conducted with the Nashik Municipal Corporation's anti-encroachment department, many structures still remain intact, resulting in a commuter's nightmare.
NHAI officials said that three years have passed since they took up road-widening work on the 60-km stretch between Pimpalgaon and Gonde on the highway. The work could not be completed in time due to these encroachments, including a few religious structures.
In November, the NHAI removed food stalls that were set up between Pathardi Patha and Dwarka in a drive, assisted by the police and the civic department. Flower-sellers near the Mumbai Naka were also asked to not operate in the area.
Garages: A large number of automobile garages operate on the two service roads; most of them of on the north and south of Dwarka Junction. Vehicles that visit these garages are bluntly parked on the road, hardly leaving any space for other vehicles to move along. The service roads are under the NMC and technically, the NHAI cannot to take up anti-encroachment drives on these.
While traffic stalls, passing the buck - this time, from the NMC to the police - seems to be the activity that the civic body is interested in.
"We may take up a drive against the garages on the service road in the near future, but they seem to reappear. The police should lodge cases against such encroachers - that is the only way this problem could be resolved," said municipal commissioner Sanjay Kandhare.
Religious structures: The service roads are home to two 'dargahs' and two temples, between Mumbai Naka and Panchavati College.
One dargah is in the Mumbai Naka area; the other near Wockhardt hospital. Officials said that the dargah at Mumbai Naka was not posing any problem, but a free road towards the left for vehicles coming from the Pournima signal is necessary. According to NHAI officials, vehicles coming from the Pournima signal and want to move left have to take a sudden turn to join traffic on the service road. This would leave space for other vehicles heading straight.
Officials said that the dargah near Wockhardt hospital occupied a substantial space on the service road. Notices have been served to remove the structure. Local resident M A Shaikh said that NHAI officials had simply handed over the notices to petty vendors near the structure. Any voluntary action by the concerned departments would only hurt religious sentiments and flare up things, Shaik said. "The authorities should have a dialogue with local corporators, members of the peace committee and the police before initiating any action," said Shaikh.
The Hanuman temple at Dwarka is another hindrance to a free left for vehicles coming from the Nashik-Pune highway. The Dwarka junction witnesses continuous traffic snarls, primarily because of the temple, which leaves hardly any space for vehicles to move smoothly. The NHAI officials said that if the temple was shifted, they could be in a position to offer a free left road, which would ease the situation. However, the priest of the temple told TOI that there has been no communication from NHAI on the issue.
Another temple in Panchavati occupies nearly half the service road's width. Officials said that they were in talks with the temple authorities.
Bali Temple: Bali Temple at Adgaon, located on the median of the highway, is yet to be shifted to a new location. A year has passed since the work of the new temple was taken up near the Rasbihari High School. The temple occupies a lane and nearly 25 metres on the road towards the city from Pimpalgaon.
Officials of PNG Tollways said they have been awaiting relocation of the temple to carry out work on the highway.
In July 2012, a motorist accidentally rammed his vehicle into the temple at night, which was followed by a huge agitation and rasta roko by some devotees. Thereafter, the NMC allotted a plot near the Rasbihari High School, along the highway. The work of the new temple was started in October 2012.
Members of the Shri Bali Maharaj Amar Mitra Mandal said it would take another three months to finish the interior work of the temple.
Another temple has come up at Umberkheda near Pimpalgaon, where the NHAI had left a 60-metre patch undeveloped.
Officials said that it has been over three years that they were in talks with the concerned leaders of the area. No breakthrough has been reached.