Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai
Mumbai, May 22: A fresh debate has emerged among residents of South Mumbai’s upscale neighbourhoods over a proposed additional exit to the Mumbai Coastal Road at Nepean Sea Road, with residents of Breach Candy, Malabar Hill and Nepean Sea Road expressing differing views on the project.
For more than a year, residents of Breach Candy have been demanding an extra exit near Nepean Sea Road to ease growing traffic congestion spilling into their locality from the Coastal Road corridor.
The issue has now sparked divisions within the Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill communities, with a section of residents extending support to the proposal. On May 4, residents from nearly 120 housing societies across Breach Candy, Kemps Corner, Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill reportedly participated in a signature campaign urging Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to approve the additional exit.
The campaign is being spearheaded by the Breach Candy Residents’ Forum (BCRF), which launched the ‘Unlock The Exit’ initiative in March. The group claims that the proposed exit already exists in Mumbai’s Development Plan and is seeking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s intervention to operationalise it.
According to the forum, the additional exit can be constructed on a plot owned by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) near Priyadarshini Park on Nepean Sea Road. Civic officials said the BMC has already written to the MSRDC seeking transfer of the land, but is yet to receive a response.
However, several residents from Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill continue to oppose the move, fearing it would worsen congestion in the otherwise quiet residential stretches, including Altamount Road.
Rahul Kadri, chairperson of the Nepean Sea Road Citizens Forum, questioned both the necessity and the estimated ?200 crore cost of the project. He argued that the existing congestion in Breach Candy lasts only for limited evening hours and causes delays of around 15 minutes.
Opponents also pointed out that even minor road works in the area often trigger traffic snarls, warning that an additional exit could severely impact traffic flow in the neighbourhood.
At the same time, supporters of the proposal believe the exit would provide quicker and easier access to the Coastal Road, which has significantly reduced travel time between Marine Drive and Bandra.
BCRF representatives stated that it was unfair for a single neighbourhood to bear the traffic burden of the entire corridor and stressed that congestion should be distributed more evenly across adjoining areas.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that discussions would be held with local residents before taking any final decision on the proposal.