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By:

Minal Sancheti

2 May 2026 at 12:26:53 pm

Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes....

Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes. Khandelwal firmly believes that road construction is not a major issue for traffic. “The road under construction is not a big issue because they usually don’t take very long to repair the roads. But even after their work is done, it is not done perfectly. At times when they are digging up the road for other purposes, they often leave a bump or a pothole,” he said. He gives an example, “One can see it on the western express highway. There are so many bumps. We call it a highway, but we can’t even drive at 15 km/h because it is not fixed properly.” He also blames people for not following traffic rules, which adds to the problem. Traffic Woes Although there are coastal roads and metros available, the traffic still seems to be a problem for many residents. A media professional and a daily commuter, Charlene Flanagan has been travelling in Mumbai for many years now. There is not much difference in her experience of the traffic congestion. From her experience, she believes the coastal roads and metros have not completely accomplished the mission of curbing traffic congestion. She says, “As a resident of Mumbai and as a person with a valid driver’s licence, I would say the traf f ic hasn’t really changed. It is still as congested, and whether the coastal roads have helped depends on the time of the day you leave and whether you are going against the traffic or along with the traffic.” The pedestrians also face problems. Saloni Mehta, a theatre artiste, says, “I prefer walking to my destinations. For example, I live in Versova, and if I want to see a play in the Prithvi Theatre, I will take a half-hour walk. However, this one time, I could not reach the venue, not just because of the traffic but also because there were no pavements left to walk on. The roads are dug up, and every road is just half a road.” Mumbai’s average speed covered is 5.2 km per 15 minutes. During the peak traffic hours in the morning, when most people travel to their workplace, the average speed is 18.5 km/h. It is important to understand the issue and address it with a solution. Sudhir Badami, an author of the book ‘Matter of Equitability - Making Commuting in Mumbai Enviable’, explains why people still prefer to use cars over metros, “The metro line 3 has definitely taken away some car users. But it has not taken away sufficient numbers of car users to make a difference in the state of road congestion. The reason behind this is essentially the last-mile connectivity in areas where the Aqua Line or Line 7 operates, especially in suburban areas. In the city area, it is supported by good BEST services on the one hand, and taxis being available near the metro stations on the other hand. But most car users still opt for using their cars, as public transport currently does provide assured exclusivity, comfort and good frequency, not forgetting last mile connectivity. The Coastal Road sees very few cars compared to the number of cars on Mumbai’s Roads. Badami, as a transportation analyst, says, “Mumbai has approximately 16 Lakhs motor cars, out of which only about 55,000 seem to be using coastal roads. It is such a minuscule proportion for whom so much has been spent. This is largely because in the city, people don’t go from one end of the city to the other end. They normally start from in between and go somewhere in between. If there is not much time saving for the shorter stretches, then people are not likely to take it, and there will be continued congestion on city roads.” “In general, the necessity of the last-mile connectivity is an important part, but the greater part will be how to get car users onto the public transport,” says Badami. Public transport must provide near exclusivity, comfort and safety to a car-using commuter for migration to take place. This is where the importance of last-mile connectivity is felt. Air Pollution The slow-moving traffic also adds to the air pollution in the city several times more than when they are moving at optimum speeds, he says. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mumbai, Anil Kumbhare, denies that there is much traffic congestion in Mumbai as compared to five years back. He credits the coastal roads for curbing the traffic. He says, “Earlier, there used to be bumper-to bumper traffic near Haji Ali. That has come down drastically. As coastal roads shape, the traffic will go down.” He also adds that there is traffic congestion in the morning hours as people are travelling for work. But there is no traffic jam. Although coastal roads have helped, there are still pockets of the city that face traffic congestion every day. This can be solved with careful planning and execution.

Pilgrimage Garners Votes

Eknath Shinde

A publicity stunt has become a powerful tool in marketing and brand promotion. They can captivate audiences, generate buzz, and leave a lasting impression. This is what has been happening in Maharashtra for some time now. Schemes are being announced with a large amount of publicity. Atmosphere is created and later the file of the scheme gathers a lot of dust on the racks of Mantralaya.


Recently, the chief minister Eknath Shinde announced ‘Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana’, a pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens from all religions. The scheme is aimed at helping the elderly people who are unable to visit the religious sites on their own. For this new pilgrimage scheme, the state government has laid down the rules and regulations and eligibility to ‘Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana’. As per these guidelines of this scheme, the senior citizens of poor families will be allowed to go on pilgrimage free of cost for once. GR pertaining to this has been issued.


The government has announced a scheme in the current budget. Chief Minister Shinde announced the full proof plan for the implementation of this Yojana. This will allow senior citizens to visit important pilgrimage sites in the country for free. GR has been issued by the Department of Social Justice. The government has selected 73 Pilgrimage sites over all India and 66 pilgrimage sites of Maharashtra. Almost all-important pilgrimage sites of the country and state have been included. Under this scheme an eligible person will get a one-time benefit of this scheme for one of the designated pilgrimage sites , also the maximum limit for travel expenses will be 30 thousand rupees per person including Accommodation. Annual income of the beneficiary should be 2 lakh 50 thousand. Beneficiary should be a resident of Maharashtra state and a senior citizen.


Online applications have to be submitted to avail the benefits of the scheme. Under the scheme, authorized tourist companies to organize bus travel and Indian Railway for train travel. For other services including hoteling IRCTC equivalent official companies will be selected. The selection of the passengers will be done by the district committee constituted at the district level. Similarly, the quota will be fixed for each district based on the population and the passengers will be selected through lottery based on the availability of applications received.


The government has made it clear that the free pilgrimage scheme is a part of the comprehensive pilgrimage policy for senior citizens from all religions who cannot afford it. The Mukhyamantri Teertha Darshan Yojana aims to enable senior citizens to undertake spiritual journeys with ease and comfort. States like Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhandand, Karnataka, and Union Territories (UTs), such as Delhi, also provide the free pilgrimage facility to holy sites for senior citizens aged 60 and above. Women get a two-year age relaxation. The government offers one-time assistance for this purpose. The scheme is part of a broader effort to support senior citizens socially, spiritually and financially in their respective home states.

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