Residents have raised a demand to beef up security on the Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai following multiple accidents and illegal activities occurring on the 10km stretch.
Even though the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) officials claimed that the road has adequate CCTV cameras, residents say the service roads and mangrove areas continue to remain unmonitored.
As per the electric department of NMMC, there are eight CCTV poles set up on the dividers apart from cameras monitoring vehicular movements on the signal junctions.
Sandeeo Bangia, a 50-year-old resident of NRI Colony, said, “Not a day goes by without any accident or some unfortunate incident on this road. My children’s school is just a few meters away from my residence but I cannot think of sending them on foot because we cannot cross the road. Even if CCTVs are present, I doubt if any of it is functioning as these don’t seem to serve as a deterrent.”
The dangers posed by the road and even the service roads were highlighted by a Mumbai-based cyclist group. On April 30, at midnight, a group of cyclists riding to Alibag recalled witnessing a woman being dragged into a car occupied by four men. “We were heading for a 100km ride from Mumbai to Alibag via Palm Beach Road when this incident occurred on a deserted service road. If there would have been CCTVs or even adequate police personnel, the vehicle could have been traced,” said one of the cyclists, Dr Vinit Gada.
A few meters ahead of the Sanpada traffic junction, the group recalled hearing screams from the service road adjacent to Palm Beach Road. “I even yelled at the man trying to drag the woman but they remained unfazed and by the time my group reached, they sped away with the women on board. We dialled 100 and informed about the incident but nothing seems to have come out,” recalled another cyclist, Karan Bhojkar.
Police departments have said they’ve increased patrolling on the stretch and with regard to the alleged kidnapping of the woman, DCP zone 1, Vivek Pansare, said of getting the local police to look into the matter.
“Since there was no complaint lodged, there is nothing known about the incident. Nevertheless, I have instructed the concerned police station to get more details from the cyclists so as to ascertain the facts of the matter. More patrolling will also be done to avert any illegal activities on this stretch,” said Pansare.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, affirmed of upgrading the coverage of CCTVs on the stretch. “More than 1,400 CCTVs are to be set up by the year end across the city. The dark spots along Palm Beach Road are a threat not just to women but also to the city in general as there are mangroves that could pose security concerns,” he said.
Rumblers, barricading on Palm Beach Rd
Following the recent accident killing two persons on Palm Beach Road, NMMC commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, and the Traffic Police department have decided to implement a few safety measures like rumblers, automated speed guns, barricading, etc.
“Over-speeding is a serious issue on Palm Beach Road. In a week’s time, a traffic synchronisation system will be incorporated so that there is better regulation on the road. We will also install rumblers and have automated speed guns at various parts of the road,” Bangar said.
Traffic police are also suggested to have barricades set up to break the speeding on the road.