Say residents of Raheja Vihar in Chandivli, claiming that the roads in the neighbourhood, which are already congested, will not be able to accommodate more traffic that the school will invite

Residents at Raheja Vihar at Chandivli are up in arms against the fact that their locality will be hosting a school for a period of six to eight months, claiming that will exacerbate the congestion that already afflicts their neighbourhood, raising it to unendurable proportions. The residents of the region have been having a hard time dealing with congested roads for many years now.


No school ? The residents of Raheja Vihar are up in arms against Pawar
Public School at Chandivli

In a locality that houses as many as 3,000 families, there is just one entry and one exit point by road. To make matters worse, the popular Megarugas Banquet Hall is situated right at the single entrance to the locality. On the days that the hall hosts weddings or functions, the entire stretch is packed with cars, aggravating the traffic situation.

So when a board was put up recently announcing that BMC training building would be offering its grounds to the Pawar Public School for a while, it was the last straw for residents. Anticipating that the passage of more cars and school buses would make the entire locality too crowded for comfort or convenience, the angst-ridden residents gathered in front of the school grounds on Sunday evening to give vent to their concerns and look for a suitable solution.

Murti, secratary of the residents' society, has also drafted a letter to the municipal commissioner of Mumbai, requesting him to reconsider the decision. The local corporator Sharad Pawar also made an appearance at the meeting. "I am not in the least bit involved in the school's administration, although it was named after me. I received no intimation that such a decision has been taken. I will take immediate action against the school," he said.

The Other Side
Dr Madhure Phadke, principal of the school, was not available to comment. MiD DAY managed to speak to Supriya Sule, one of the trustees of the school, who said, "The principal of the school will be meeting the residents tomorrow. We are experiencing some technical problems at our original location, which is in a neighbouring locality.u00a0 Thus we have rented the BMC premises for temporary u00a0usage, for the duration of six to eight months. We have obtained all the required permissions."

Resident speak
My father has ailing kidneys. I get sleepless nights thinking about what will happen if there is ever a medical emergency, because the ambulance will take very long to reach my residence. The inauguration of the proposed school will only make matters worse.
--u00a0Debasmita Pani, a resident

I have been a resident of this locality since 1993. When we first bought our place, we could make use of two roads to leave and enter the locality. But soon we discovered that one of the two roads had been leased, and the builder subsequently had to shut it down. The entire locality is so congested now. I don't know how we will manage when the school comes up.
-- Sameer Kaji, a resident