The Maharashtra government took the 1948 Modak-Meyer report out of cold storage in 1973. The study included recommendations for how to connect Bandra’s western suburbs with Kurla’s eastern suburbs. A proposal to construct a new business centre in what is now known as the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) emerged following studies and ensuing development plans. Before the neighbourhood was developed into a wealthy suburb in the late 2000s, it required several more decades.
Around 2010, the government began to push for improved infrastructure due to the need to relieve traffic. As a result, more than 55 flyovers were planned, new roads were constructed, and more trains were run to connect the newly developed business districts, which included BKC, Lower Parel-Worli, MIDC, and SEEPZ in Andheri East, Powai, and some other suburbs like Malad.
Although the creation of microbusiness zones in the suburbs helped to relieve traffic in south Mumbai, these islands eventually suffered the most from the authorities’ neglect of last-mile connections in their intricate plans. It has directly affected the standard of commuting in these hubs over time.
Mumbai has been named the most congested city in India, according to a 2021 survey conducted by TomTom, a worldwide corporation that monitors 404 cities in 58 nations. This result was reached based on commuters’ road travel time, which was nearly twice as long as planned to cover specific distances.
Mumbai: Film studios that stood between the Telli-Gulli and Chakala intersections on the Andheri-Kurla Road were synonymous with Andheri East for nearly 50 years, from the 1930s to the 1980s. Big names in Bollywood had offices here, but the movie companies eventually vanished. For instance, Modern Studio had to close when the Western Express Highway (WEH) was built directly through it in the middle of the 1960s, while Prakash Studio cleared the way for a housing complex, and M&T Studio, which was destroyed in a fire in the 1960s, cleared the way for a pharmaceutical company.
The major shift, however, occurred on May 1, 1973, when the 110-acre Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) was established to capitalise on the expanding worldwide electronics market and hasten the development of electronics manufacturing in India. Later, in 1987–1988, the government decided to approve the suburb’s production and export of jewellery and stones.
The terrain, which was formerly characterised by some of the oldest settlements of former East Indian villages at Pump House, Chakala, Gundawali, Sahar, and Sakinaka, was altered by these activities. The traffic volume and increasing population pressure on the narrow Andheri-Kurla Road, which passed through the settlements, were too much for it to handle. The government intended to build a six-lane overhead roadway between Versova and Ghatkopar to relieve traffic in the area, but the project was never completed.
By 2005, the Andheri-Kurla Road had deteriorated to the point where it would take an hour during rush hour to travel the seven kilometres from WEH to Marol, a distance that could be completed in twenty minutes. A retired corporate executive who worked as a police officer in the area in the early 2000s said, “It was a nightmare for passengers getting down on the eastern side of the Andheri railway station. Auto-rickshaw drivers understandably refused trips to SEEPZ and other parts of MIDC.”
The government widened the Andheri-Kurla Road during this time, “which brought some relief as the traffic congestion on the stretch eased.” The former official did point out, however, that the government disregarded the tiny lanes that connect the areas from Andheri-Kurla Road or the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and failed to address the issue of access to either SEEPZ or MIDC.
Traffic delays in the middle of the day indicate that, more than 20 years later, the area’s traffic congestion is still present. The metro line, which was designed to relieve traffic in the neighbourhood, likewise follows Andheri Kurla Road, but it ignores the critical last-mile connectivity problems. Although the trains ride above the ground, the road below is nonetheless clogged and difficult to navigate, even though it was intended to reduce traffic congestion.
The greatest challenge facing local officials and corporations in K-East Ward is the apathy on the Andheri-Kurla Road, an arterial that connects east and west. Huge craters and unlawful parking make for horrible traffic on the 3.5-kilometre stretch of road connecting WEH to Andheri MIDC. Locals claim that since the beginning of the metro project in 2007, the route itself has been uneven.
The state of the road that links Andheri West and East might make for great material for a stand-up comedy routine, according to Sudhir Badami, a traffic expert who lives close to the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), which serves as a gateway to SEEPZ and MIDC. Andheri, the nearest train station at SEEPZ, is six kilometres away. “Compared to the flyover, the diversion road from JVLR to MIDC is narrow, and the confusing U-turn signal causes traffic jams,” he continued.
Every day, Hargun Singh, an F&B entrepreneur from Andheri West, drives to his MIDC office. He stated that it takes him more than an hour to get from west to east. I have to go all the way to Vile Parle to cross over since the Gokhale Bridge is closed.
Andheri East is well-known for being bustling, with a large number of IT service companies and industrial areas nearby. But the transport infrastructure is inadequate, and it is not a place for hikers. The journey from the train station to MIDC is about six kilometres, and commuters are forced to rely on shared cars due to the infrequent schedule and crowded BEST buses.
The closest metro station to MIDC is only four kilometres away, at Chakala (B Nagar). However, Dhawal Ashar, head of the Sustainable Cities and Transport programme at the World Resources Institute in Mumbai, stated that “walking to work is not possible, and the crowd at the bus depot at Andheri East seems to be increasing by the day.” While several corporations offer shuttle services to the train station, Ashar claimed that the majority of working-class people in Andheri take BEST buses or vehicles.
The majority of commuters are at the mercy of reckless and hesitant drivers. With the success of Metro lines 2A and 7, a cartel of illicit share vehicles has formed outside metro stations, and demand for them is growing.
Although the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) has approved shared autorickshaws outside metro stations on Lines 1, 2A, and 7 in mid-September with traffic police approval, Mumbai Traffic Police are hesitant to issue authorization for shared auto stands.
According to M. Ramkumar, additional commissioner of police (traffic), shared autorickshaw drivers are disorderly and don’t pay much attention to traffic laws. This is among the justifications for not authorising shared autorickshaws. Only once they demonstrate any improvement in their performance will we let them operate.
According to road transport specialist Jitendra Gupta, shared vehicles constitute a “disadvantage to people.” “Regular auto drivers who operate on set-metre charges are harassed by an organised gang of drivers near railway stations. In addition, they coerce people into sitting next to them in the driver’s seat, against the law, according to Gupta.
“Metro Line 1 services most corporate neighbourhoods in the suburb,” stated Vedant Mhatre, programme manager for the Walking Project. The Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road’s newly expanded pathways beneath this line are a huge improvement over the previous setup. However, as soon as they enter the internal streets that diverge from the main road, they vanish.
He also brought attention to the footpath’ surfaces, which are either in terrible condition or occupied by street sellers. “The crossroads have inadequate zebra crossing design and outdated pedestrian safety elements. The speaker expressed dissatisfaction with the organisation and capacity of bus stops and rickshaw stops. They suggested that feeder buses and rickshaws from SEEPZ and Marol be provided with dedicated infrastructure to be dropped off at metro stations, allowing for faster last-mile travel times.
