Even as the MMRDA has illuminated the road below Barfiwala Flyover in Andheri with fancy blue-coloured LED lights, sections of arterial and much used Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road are still in the dark, as two power distribution companies are fighting over whose jurisdiction it comes under for two years now.
Since the MMRDA is unable to resolve the iss-ue, motorists have been forced to put their lives at risk. The MMRDA claims to have completed the JVLR project way back in December 2010, but one of the most important asp-ect of this World Bank- funded project — providing street lights — has been partially ignored.
“As boundaries between the two power distribution companies are unclear and both have been passing the buck over who should supply power to the lamp posts, some portions of JVLR, which includes the rail overbridge at Kanjurmarg, as well as the flyover on Gandhi Nagar Junction and a 200 metre-section at L&T lies in the dark every night,” an MMRDA official said, requesting anonymity.
According to Ganesh Shinde, who works in the Powai area, “Riding a two-wheeler on these dark stretches are dangerous as the road is full of potholes and one can easily loose balance.”
The plights of motorists have been constantly ignored by the JVLR. At the moment, only a 200 metre-section below the flyover has been lit and the development authority has a tight budget of `14.63 lakhs to cover 1,400 metres on both sides of the flyover at Andheri.
Work on it is expected to be completed by the first week of November. When asked, MMRDA officials did not have a clear reply as to whether JVLR would be lit up.