Mumbai: Juhu locals fed-up of illegal parking on Gulmohar Road

Parked vehicles from Mithibai college signal to Criticare hospital

Residents of the Juhu JVPD area are facing inconvenience with illegal parking along the right side of Gulmohar Road, allegedly caused by local hotel owners. Customers visiting hotels along the Gulmohar Road, from the Mithibai college signal to Criticare hospital, are said to be parking their vehicles creating the problem.

Every day, thousands of vehicles travel along the Gulmohar Road stretch, from the Juhu JVPD signal to Mithibai college, which is also the route for the upcoming D N Nagar to Mandale Metro line. During the construction phase, a section of the road was barricaded, but after the piers were erected and the girder launched, the barricades were removed.

Traffic snarls caused as a result of the parked cars. Pics/Anurag Ahire

Activist, filmmaker, and chairman of the Gulmohar Area Society's Welfare Group, Ashok Pandit said, "This is causing significant inconvenience not only to local residents but also to motorists using this road. We have raised complaints about this issue with the local authorities, but no action has been taken against the illegal parking. Although we're not sure who is parking these vehicles, it is believed that some local restaurant and café owners are parking their customers' cars. We demand strict action against these illegally parked vehicles, and we urge the traffic police to issue fines."

Locals also voiced concerns that the parked vehicles narrow down the road, leading to traffic jams. Local resident Bharat Shetty, also a trustee of the Gulmohar Area Society's Welfare Group, said, "Numerous complaints have been made, but nothing has been done. The traffic police frequently use this road, so why aren't they taking action against the cars parked along the median?"

Nita Bajpai, a local resident and social activist from the Juhu Gulmohar area, said, "The chances of accidents increase due to these parked cars, yet the traffic police aren't taking any action. We've filed complaints with the authorities. People park their cars along the median in front of eateries on Gulmohar Road. We've also observed that sometimes car owners just sit in their vehicles, and move them without signalling, which could cause accidents."

Samarth Das, an architect and town planner, said, "This was happening informally during the construction of the Metro pillars due to loose barricades, but now that the formal divider has been reinstated and the median built, this is absolutely unacceptable."

A traffic police official from D N Nagar traffic division said, "Time and again, we have taken action against the illegally parked vehicles and we will continue the same. On Thursday night, around 7 pm, our staff took a ride on the stretch and did not find any car parked along the median of the road."