Residents of Madhusudan Kalelkar Marg, at Kalanagar in Bandra East, have stated that their area is plagued by traffic snarls due to scores of delivery agents haphazardly parking their two-wheelers on both sides of the road while picking up orders from local stores. They also alleged that these riders, who are present from morning till as late as 11 pm on some days, cause a nuisance by constantly honking and smoking cigarettes whose smoke wafts into the lower floors of buildings.
Siddharth Pardhe, a resident of Sahitya Sahawas Co-operative Housing Society, on whose premises a major grocery store is located, said, “The drivers are a constant presence. They stand around smoking while waiting for their orders, endangering the health of those living on the lower floors.” While residents have asked the store owner to instruct delivery agents to maintain decorum, they have not observed any changes in the drivers’ behaviour.
“Other residents and I have complained multiple times, but it hasn’t made a difference. The owner of the store keeps saying they will shift to a different locality soon, but this hasn’t happened yet,” added Pardhe. Due to the traffic congestion caused by the parking of vehicles on both sides of the road, the honking of impatient motorists is constantly heard in the area, which is mostly home to senior citizens.
“It’s unbelievable sometimes. In the morning, when almost everyone is leaving for work, there is always a brief jam on a 100-metre section of the road because of the narrow path. There are multiple no-parking boards in the area, but it seems that no one cares about them. There needs to be stricter rules about parking in residential areas like ours,” said another resident, on the condition of anonymity.
“We have a citizens’ group, the Madhusudan Kalelkar Marg Residents Association, and have informed the traffic police multiple times about this long-standing issue. They come and tow vehicles that block the road, but calling them again and again is not the solution; there needs to be a better way of ensuring there’s no illegal parking area in our residential area,” said Pardhe.
A delivery agent waiting for his order on Madhusudan Kalelkar Marg, who did not wish to be named, told mid-day, “We try to have the shortest turnaround time possible, but if the stores themselves delay orders, we cannot do anything but wait.” This newspaper contacted the Mumbai traffic police to ask them how parking is managed in residential areas of the city, and if there could be a better way to deal with such issues, but did not receive a reply by press time.
