Mahul colony to get 1 taxi, 2 auto stands

LOCAL RESIDENTS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE DECISION AS THEY WANT SHARED AUTO AND TAXI SERVICES

MUMBAI: One of the biggest rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) colony of project-affected persons (PAPS) at Mahul is all set to get an alternate mode of transport. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) has approved two rickshaw stands and one taxi stand for the Mhada colony.

The auto-rickshaw stands will accommodate 10 vehicles each while the taxi stand will have a capacity for five taxis. Approval for the stands was given at an MMRTA meeting last month chaired by transport secretary Ashish Kumar Singh.

PAPS have been reluctant to move into the colony due to its poor infrastructure, including lack of public transport facilities. Hence, the state government had appointed a committee to review the basic infrastructure in May 2018.

After visiting the colony, the committee submitted its report in which it highlighted the need for taxi and auto-rickshaw connectivity to the colony. Acting on it, the transport authority has taken the decision of providing the taxi and auto stands, a Regional Transport Office (RTO) official said.

Local residents and political parties, however, are not happy with the decision as they want shared auto and taxi services to the nearest railway stations. “Majority of the people in the colony are from the working class. Many of them can’t even afford the bus journey. How can they afford a taxi and auto rickshaw journey? Instead, the colony needs shared auto or taxi services,” said Ravindra Pawar, a Nationalist Congress Party member.

A senior RTO official said that they have planned sharedauto routes to the nearest monorail station from the colony once the entire corridor between Chembur to Saat Rasta of the monorail becomes operational. “Presently BEST operates more than 600 services from the road outside the colony,” said the official.

Residents pointed out though, that they have to walk for five to 10 minutes to catch BEST buses from outside the colony. “Except 361, none other buses have a better frequency. Some even don’t turn up in 30 minutes,” said Sahil Khan, a resident who works at a Bhoiwada-based real estate project.