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THANE: Residents of Mulla Baug in Manpada staged a silent protest on Saturday morning, opposing the alleged last-minute change in the alignment of the Thane-Borivali tunnel road project. They claimed the revised route threatens the area’s tranquillity and green cover.
Marching from their societies to the project site, the residents demanded that the at-grade route be shifted underground up to Ghodbunder Road. While expressing support for developmental works, they said the deviation had already led to the loss of hundreds of mature trees and raised concerns about further depletion of greenery and increased traffic once the eight-lane road is completed.
“When the tunnel was announced, we were told it would begin at Tikujiniwadi, so we accepted the inconvenience,” said Nitin Singh, a local society office bearer. “But to our shock, we learned it would pass right by our homes only when contractors asked for our consent. By then, several trees were already being felled, allegedly with civic approval. Several letters to the MMRDA trying to draw their attention to our concerns went unanswered. We had no choice but to protest.”
Resident Aruna Naik added, “We moved here for the peace and greenery. The ongoing work already worsened dust and air pollution, leading to health concerns for a few of us. Authorities should have at least informed us. We’re not against the project just asking for the route to go underground to save what’s left of the environment.”
A response from the MMRDA was awaited at the time of reporting.
The MMRDA-approved 11-km tunnel aims to ease congestion on Ghodbunder Road, cutting travel time between Thane’s Manpada and Borivali’s Magathane to just 15 minutes.
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