Travel in comfort in 2020 as many bridges, Metro lines to open

Metro corridors in 2020
Two to be up and running this year

If everything goes to plan then Mumbaikars will experience respite from traffic and the year might be a good one in terms of commuting as several infrastructure projects are expected to be thrown open right from metro to several flyovers and bridges. Metro corridors expected to be ready are Dahisar to Andheri East and Dahisar to D N Nagar. Motorists who get stuck in traffic on the arterial WEH and the new link road due to ongoing work on Metro line 2A and 7 also have reason to smile as they won't get stuck in traffic post monsoon. MMRDA is confident of completing the Metro work on both corridors by the first quarter of this year and post monsoon, the trial runs might begin. The line will be ready for use during Diwali if all necessary safety certificates are in place.

Air-conditioned locals
The CR to get its first AC local

While Central Railway will get its first air-conditioned local on the trans-harbour line, the six AC locals that have arrived will be put into service this month. Officials said the train will most probably run with about 16 services and that, too, on the Thane-Vashi sector as it would not involve compromising existing services. The fare structure will be similar to that of the Western Railway, which is about 1.3 times the fare of the base fare for first class. Officials said that the train, has the best of features. Senior officials said they will try and get a dash cam installed in front for monitoring. It will also have CCTV monitoring inside. The closing of doors is also faster that in the earlier AC locals On the BEST front, the undertaking intends to run a bigger fleet of AC buses. With the BEST Undertaking inviting tenders to procure another 300 AC diesel-run buses, the BEST will have a fleet of more than 2,000 AC buses (electric/CNG/diesel) by 2021, half of which will be in by 2020.

Ghatkopar Mankhurd Link Road
Flyover to help motorists skip three junctions

Tired of getting stuck on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road during peak hours? Your woes may end soon, as the BMC is likely to open the 2.15-km flyover on link road this year. The flyover lets you jump three traffic junctions and will help commuters travelling from the eastern freeway heading towards the Sion-Panvel highway. The project, which cost R468 crore, will help motorists cut down the total travel time during peak hours by at least 15 minutes, said officials.

BKC-WEH Elevated connector
No more getting stuck in infernal traffic jams with this bridge

Motorists who get stuck in traffic on the SCLR and BKC near Kurla will be able to say goodbye to jams in the first quarter of this year. Motorists going from BKC towards WEH via SCLR will be able to reach the highway in less than 15 minutes as MMRDA is confident of completing the work of the BKC-WEH elevated road by January-February 2020. During peak hours, CST Road, BKC Road and Kalina Road witness heavy traffic and the elevated road is expected to solve this problem. Work on the project started in 2017 and is nearing completion, according to MMRDA officials. The 3.8 km elevated road starts near Kapadiya Junction and ends at Western Express Highway near Vakola Junction. The over Rs 400 crore project will be a four-lane flyover with one arm going towards Kurla and the other going towards BKC.

Property tax relief
Shiv Sena to make good its election promise

No property tax on houses of up to 500 sq feet was the Shiv Sena's promise during the municipal election in 2017. While the previous state government announced the tax waiver last year, it was applicable to only the general tax component, which is up to 30 per cent of the total tax. The remaining 70 to 90 per cent components are water tax, stormwater drainage tax, BMC education cess, state education cess, employment guarantee cess, tree cess, road tax, and so on. It means people have to pay the rest of the 70 to 90 per cent. The current Sena-led government will likely amend the act as the other parties in the alliance - Congress and NCP - have assured property tax waiver in their election manifesto.

Historic Fitzgerald Fountain to return to Metro
The fountain has been languishing at the zoo

The Fitzgerald Fountain that was erected at the Metro junction back in 1867 will go back to its original location early next year. The fountain, which also functions as a gas lamp, was erected by the Esplanade Committee 152 years ago to commemorate the arrival of Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey-Fitzgerald who served as the Governor of Bombay from 1867 to 1872. In the mid-1960s, the Fitzgerald fountain was one of many British era statues that were relocated to the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. Ever since the fountain has been resting in the lawns of the Veermata Jijabai Udyan. The civic body has been working on restoring the structure since 2018, and finishing touches remain.

Wildlife radio collaring
Radio-collaring will reveal some sought-after details of how exactly leopards from SGNP co-exist with humans

In a what can be termed as a scientific study that will give an in-depth account of the secret lives of urban leopards of Mumbai and reveal some details about how leopards from SGNP co-exist with humans, the much-awaited study of radio-collaring leopards will finally see the light of the day in 2020. Three leopards in SGNP will be radio-collared and SGNP has already signed an MoU with the Wildlife Conservation Society-India for radio collaring. Internationally acclaimed Leopard Expert and Biologist Dr Vidya Athreya WCS - India will head the project and along with her team she will collar the leopards from SGNP. At present, the ongoing camera trapping study being carried out in the park by Nikit Surve.

Lions will make an entry to Byculla zoo
The civic body is planning to ask Sakkarbaug zoo to send at least one pair of lions

The BMC has long been trying to get two pairs of lions for the Byculla zoo from Gujarat. However, Sakkarbaug zoo officials demanded two pairs of zebras in exchange. The civic body went through a lengthy process of floating a tender and is now in the process of finalising a contractor who will procure the zebras. While the zebras are expected to be imported early next year, the civic body is planning to ask Sakkarbaug zoo to send at least one pair of lions once the agency is finalised so that they can add glamour to its lacklustre animal showcase.

City hawkers to get certificates
Eligible hawkers will get special identity cards

Under the Hawkers' Policy 15,000 new hawkers will be given registration certificates this year. The plan, pending for the last five years, will finally be implemented this year, said civic officials. Currently, the BMC is in the final stages of designing ID cards for 15,000 eligible hawkers who have been chosen after rigorous scrutiny of documents. The project which was to streamline the hawking problem will be concluded by giving out registration certificates and identity cards to them.

All-new and upgraded bridges
Dilapidated, unstable bridges to be overhauled

The collapse of a part of Gokhale Bridge at Andheri in July 2018 and Himalaya foot over bridge (FOB) at CSMT in March 2019 triggered concern around the condition of bridges in the city. The bridges department hit by a manpower crunch has taken up the mammoth job of reconstruction and repair of more than 150 bridges in Mumbai. While the reconstruction of major bridges will take two to four years, many foot over bridges and construction of seven bridges Vakola's Hans Bhugra bridge, Malad Link Road bridge near D-Mart, Dhobighat, Majas nullah, SNDT at Juhu Tara Road, Meghwadi Nullah, Dahisar River bridge, Piramal Nullah bridge at Inorbit mall will be completed this year.

BMC's Cancer Palliative Care Hospital
The BMC's new hospital will have three floors for cancer care

To give cancer patients access to specialised treatment, the BMC is working on constructing a 17-storeyed multi-specialty hospital near Kamathipura which will dedicate three floors to cancer palliative care. This hospital, which will be the first civic-run facility to offer cancer palliative care, will have beds for 54 patients and will be the tallest civic hospital in the city.

CBSE at civic schools
BMC plans to offer ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education), CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and MIEB (Maharashtra International Education Board) in its schools

In the new year, BMC hopes to bring new students to its otherwise empty schools with its new plan of offering non-state board curriculums. It plans to offer ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and MIEB (Maharashtra International Education Board). The objective is to increase enrolment in civic-run schools by changing people's perception about these institutions. The BMC plans to start the curricula in schools that have shut down due to the lack of students.

Mini forensic labs to the rescue

THIS year, forensic investigations will get a boost in the state with the addition of two new centres. A state-of-the-art Mini Forensic Science Laboratory (MFSL), inaugurated recently, will become fully operational in Charai of Thane district, and another one will become operational on January 9 in Solapur. A total of five MFSLs will be functional in Maharashtra with these two new centres (Thane and Solapur) becoming operational. At present, three MFSLs operate in Chandrapur, Dhule and Ratnagairi. The state already has eight forensic science laboratories, with the headquarters at Kalina. The MFSL set-up is part of the recommendations mooted by an expert committee formed in the year 2015, with the intent of increasing the conviction rate in serious offences by conducting forensic analysis on biological samples received at the earliest. The MFSLs, on an average, have a staff strength of 27 employees including class 3 and 4 staffers. Dr K V Kulkarni, director (Acting), State Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina, said, "We will accept forensic samples to conduct only biological examinations (viscera and blood) and toxicological examinations (to rule out poisoning) to start with at Thane and Solapur. These will cover police stations in both districts. Palghar will be catered to by the MFSL, Thane. We get an average of 150 cases of biology and 100 cases of toxicology from Thane and Palghar district every month. Now these cases will be dealt with at MFSL, Thane."

Flyover connecting Bandra East and West

MMRDA plans to complete work on the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) flyover to Reclamation this year. There is some good news for motorists getting stuck in traffic at Kalanagar junction and on the road that comes from Bandra Reclamation towards BKC as MMRDA plans to open the flyover somewhere in mid 2020. There are two flyovers (estimated cost R163 core) and a road coming up to clear the BKC junction. The total length of the two flyovers - one from BKC to the sea link and one from the sea link to BKC is 1,888 metres. Also planned is a 300-metre long and 12-feet-wide road running through government land to streamline traffic from Dharavi to the sea link. The two flyovers at Kalanagar Junction, Bandra - one leading towards the sea link and the other approaching Bandra-Kurla Complex - are expected to provide seamless connectivity to the complex as also to reduce traffic congestion in the area.

By Vinod Kumar Menon, Sanjeev Shivadekar, Rajendra Aklekar, Ranjeet Jadhav, Chetna Sadadekar, Prajakta Kasale, Pallavi Smart, Arita Sarkar and Gaurav Sarkar

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