MUMBAI: Divakar Tamboli lives at Maroshi and works at Nariman Point. He leaves home by 8 a.m. in order to reach his office at 10:30 a.m. "One has to keep at least an hour aside for travelling to Andheri station," he says. "And one must never forget to keep a handkerchief, you never know how long you might be stuck in the traffic," he adds.

Divakar's predicament is shared by many a commuter in this area. "The Andheri-Kurla road has always been a problem," says traffic police chowki in Andheri east.

Last week, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) dug up an entire stretch at the Chakala junction to repair thousands of phones that went dead in the MIDC area. This resulted in jams that lasted for more than an hour.

Mr. Shaikh complains that his chowki is understaffed. He has already written to the traffic police headquarters requesting for 30 more men to add the 133 already working under him.

"There was a time when there were peak hours during which one could expect traffic problems. These days anything can happen at anytime," he says.

The most obvious reason for the bottleneck is the Andheri flyover which should have been ready by June 23 but is still under construction. "It's a must for the traffic policemen to be constantly present here," says a local autorickshaw driver. The girders of the flyover at the Gold Spot, Bahar and Andheri-Kurla junctions are not set in alignment with the already existing roads. As a result, traffic slows down while trying to negotiate the bend in the road.

The Shani Bazaar on Saturdays is another menace. The hawkers spill over to over half-a-kilometer on the Andheri-Kurla Road near Marol pipeline, invariably slowing down the traffic.

Since the hawking zone scheme is yet to be finalised, nothing much can be done about providing them with some alternate space. According to some constables, an alternate space near Marol pipeline road had been recommended but in vain. In spite of the Rs.1200 fine, the hawkers keep coming back.

Due to various industrial units here there are many lorries plying in the area. Around 300 private transport companies also have their offices here. Their big vehicles break down quite often, obstructing the traffic in a major way.

To add to the woes, there are only four cranes all over Mumbai to remove any vehicles which breaks down on the road. The crane closest to Andheri east has to come from Vakola and a lot depends on its availability.

At Church Road, Mukund hospital, Kondivita gap, J.B.Nagar, Ruby gap, Mahalakshmi gap and Mittal gap the cement dividers is broken at various places. Vehicles often take 'U' turns which result in traffic jams. Traffic constables blame the local residents for removing the divider. A constable says, "At Mahalakshmi gap when we put up a 'no U turn' board six months ago, it disappeared overnight." Maude D'coasta who lives close to the Western Express highway says, "The traffic police do a good job in this area. It is mostly the vehicle -owners who break rules and create problems.

According to Mr. Shaikh, grill dividers have been recommended for these areas and it's only a matter of time before they are put up.

Kondivita also suffers from serious water-logging problems. The manholes at Chakala, Marol Naka, Mukund hospital and Kumaria signal have sunk in but the K-east ward has done nothing about it.

The road between Chakala to Mahalaxmi gap which has been dug by various utility services has been left with only two lanes instead of three. The traffic police believe that the Andheri flyover would solve a lot of problems. Besides, instead of asphalting, if the roads are cemented it would last much longer, without the constant problems of potholes emerging out of nowhere, specially during the monsoon.

Proper coordination between the various bodies like the traffic police, the BMC, the public works department (PWD) and the utility services like MTNL and others could help in solving a lot of problems.

Besides motorists, pedestrians also face problems as the pavements on Andheri-Kurla road are in a mess.