Amid the ongoing protest over the Maratha Quota reservation, traffic across the city, especially in South Mumbai, has been severely hit. With roads being blocked at various locations and BEST buses affected, office-goers on Friday morning faced inconvenience.
As reported by news agency PTI, thousands of Maratha protesters headed to the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to join the protest launched by activist Manoj Jarange. With a massive crowd moving towards the Azad Maidan, the traffic has been drastically slowed down in the city`s southern and eastern parts, especially on roads leading towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
News agency PTI also reported that several buses were stuck in jams for a long time around CSMT during the morning rush hours, causing hassle amid the commuters.
With lakhs of office-goers arriving at CSMT, walking or taking BEST buses or taxis to their workplaces in business districts like Nariman Point, Fort, Kalabadevi, and Crawford Market every morning, people had a tough time due to the massive congestion at the CSMT junction.
To make the situation for the commuter even worse, the suburban services on the Central Railway were also running late. As reported by news agency PTI, the trains were running late due to a snag in the engine of a goods train, which led to the bunching of local trains near Byculla station on the main line.
Several commuters complained of overcrowded suburban trains and the unavailability of BEST buses at bus stops.
While addressing the problems, one of the commuters asserted that “All suburban stations and local trains on the Harbour line have been more crowded than usual. Maratha quota protesters were at all stations between Wadala and CSMT,” as cited by news agency PTI.
The protest caused delays in BEST bus services and led to diversions and curtailment of key routes, officials said. Several BEST buses were overcrowded, said users.
Talking to the media, one of the BEST spokespersons highlighted, “All south Mumbai-bound services on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marg, a key route in the island city, were curtailed at Dadar. Many other routes ended at Bharatmata, Mumbai Central and other locations,” as cited by news agency PTI.
Earlier on Friday, the Mumbai traffic police also appealed to people to avoid using the Eastern Freeway, one of the main corridors for reaching south Mumbai.
(With inputs from PTI)
