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I got into the world of motorcycling a couple of years back. Out of curiosity, I test-rode a Suzuki V-Strom 650. It was love at first sight! Who knew motorcycling could be so much fun? At the time of taking delivery, I met a friendly bloke who had come to service his bike. He congratulated me and then asked, “Where are you going for the first ride?” I really had no idea. So he suggested, “Go to Ahura. Beautiful roads! Great food!”
So Ahura it was. The road was smooth, and although traffic was heavy, there were no blockages. It was a fun ride. Later, I came to know that visiting Hotel Ahura on the Ahmedabad highway is almost like a rite of passage. Every serious biker in Mumbai has been there at least once.
Fast forward to August 2024. Every biker group in the city is filled with complaints about the state of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. What used to be a 1.5-hour ride now takes 4-5 hours. There are traffic jams everywhere. The reason? The so-called upgrade to concrete. One question on everybody’s mind: What was the need to mess with a perfectly good road? What’s wrong with tar roads? At least make sure the newly upgraded road is as good or better than the older one. At least make proper alternative arrangements when the upgrade is going on.
More or less the same story has played out on the Pune-Bangalore highway. The road has always been in perfectly good shape, but the government wants to “upgrade” it to concrete. What for? As if we don’t deal with enough traffic jams in the city. Now, when we want to unwind by going away from the city, we are faced with traffic jams there too.
Mumbai-Nashik highway? Ditto.
Mumbai-Goa highway? Please, it’s painful to even talk about it.
I happen to live in the constituency represented by Mr. Shrikant Shinde, son of CM Eknath Shinde. Three new flyovers have been completed in the last two years or so: one near Mumbra bypass, one near Shil junction, and another near Kalamboli junction. Out of these, #1 and #3 have already developed potholes. Most likely, #2 will go the same way soon. How can brand-new concrete roads develop potholes in such a short amount of time?
There has been little to no progress on two other major projects: Airoli-Katai road and the Xperia flyover. Just before the General Elections, posters went up near the Xperia flyover, profusely thanking Mr. Shrikant Shinde for speeding up the flyover work. You’d think by now the flyover would be complete. My assessment is that it was 25% earlier, and now it is probably 27%. Our leaders have the temerity to take credit for speeding up the work and then abandon it. The flyover has been in the making for the last three years. At the rate it’s going, I don’t think it will be complete before another two years. This flyover could (hopefully) relieve the daily traffic jams at the Xperia junction. No one seems to be bothered about the plight of an honest, tax-paying salaried worker who is expected to spend 70 hours a week (as suggested by some wise men) and then spend another 25 stuck in traffic jams.
Apparently, there’s a new “setu” in town that’s supposed to make it super easy to reach South Mumbai. Please, can someone point me to the place where I can get on the blasted thing? I think by the time I reach the entry point, I would reach South Mumbai by the old highway. Who is
the setu for? The only use case is for ministers residing in South Mumbai who want to quickly go to Pune.
The government and its cheerleaders have been tom-tomming about the world-class infrastructure built in the last 10 years. As an ordinary citizen with no particular political inclination, I am unable to see either the infrastructure or the world-class quality.
I was planning to visit the Statue of Unity for my next ride. Given that I will have to go through the Ahmedabad highway and with no assurance whether the statue will hold up, I’ve dropped the idea now.
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