Panvel: The relief of motorists after the opening of the Taloja Railway subway two years ago was short-lived, as the low-lying subway is logged with water throughout the year posing risk to the commuters. The subway reduced the hours of traffic jams at the manual railway crossing.
Due to its low level, it is flooded usually with groundwater. Residents are demanding that the subway be elevated by a metre to ensure water does not accumulate in it leading to sludge and consequently unhygienic and slippery conditions.
Shahjehan Chougule, 45, a regular motorist, said, “The subway has a concrete road. The groundwater spills onto the road which leads to it becoming very slippery. A lot of dirt and sludge also accumulate here because of it.”
He added that there have been several instances of vehicles skidding.
Atul Jaitpal, 42, a resident added, “It gets worse in monsoon. The rainwater from the walls on both sides of the subway seeps in during rain. At times there are almost 3 feet of waterlogged in the subway. Residents then have to travel almost 3 kilometres distance to use the Pendhar railway crossing. There is no other option but to increase the elevation of the road here.”
He stated that representations have been made to the railways by residents and politicians to elevate the road by a metre.
When contacted A K Jain, deputy chief public relations officer (CPRO), at Central Railway, said, “The site was inspected by the concerned department officials. The issue has been attended to before monsoon.” However, there was no response on why it persists.