Traffic slowed down on the busy Sion-Panvel Highway, particularly in the Nerul to Kharghar section, for a couple of hours on Friday morning due to a rally held by Project Affected Persons (PAPs) of the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) Project to name the airport after their leader, late DB Patil.
The Navi Mumbai traffic police had blocked access to CBD Belapur node from both Mumbai and Panvel directions, forcing the motorists to take only the highway to head towards their destinations.
The rally was organised by DB Patil Navi Mumbai International Airport All Party Action committee at CBD Belapur with plans to `gherao’ CIDCO. However, they were allowed to only hold a meeting at some distance by the police.
Talking about the traffic congestion, Prakash Patil (34), a Panvel resident, said, “I was stuck for quite some time between Kharghar and Belapur as all vehicles had to take the Belapur flyover to head towards Nerul instead of taking the usual CBD Belapur node. The rally this time was not huge. The traffic police need not have blocked the entire node access as it caused a lot of inconvenience to motorists.”
Another motorist, Manish Pathak (24), said, “I had to take the Parsik Hill route to enter the node as all other access routes were blocked. Those who came from Palm Beach Road to head into Panvel or Pune, had to take a diversion from Uran Phata and go to Sion-Panvel Highway.”
Purshottam Karad, DCP (Traffic), said, “All precautions and measures were taken considering the safety and convenience of the motorists and also the protestors. How can vehicles be allowed in an area where a large number of protestors are expected to gather? Our personnel were on the road and ensured that there were no major issues and traffic passed smoothly on all sides.”
Meanwhile, Panvel MLA Prashant Thakur, who has been spearheading the agitation said, “Following our agitation last year, the State Government has not taken any decision on naming the airport. Instead, the resolution to name it against late Balasaheb Thackeray is still not cancelled. We will not allow CIDCO and the State Government to continue with their whims. This will be a wake-up call for them and send a strong message that we mean business.”