Vashi Depot makeover, a sigh of relief

Date of Publishing in Dainik Jagran Cityplus: 2011-04-29 00:00:00.0

Residents of Vashi finally have something to cheer about. The makeover of Vashi Bus Depot undertaken by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has brought respite not just from commuting woes but has many other benefits.
There are a large number of colleges near Vashi Bus Depot, the biggest relief of this bus depot renovation has come to these girls. Earlier they use to face a lot of problems due to eve-teasers who had made this depot, their den. These anti-social elements used to gather here in groups and regularly create nuisance.
Minakshi Ughade, a resident informed "Many girls had started avoiding this area due to this problem. These men used to sit at some specific spots in the depot and make it impossible for the girls to cross this area. Illegal hawkers used to add to the problem. This facelift has been a great sigh of relief for the girls."
Shifting of Nerul Bus stand and widening of roads are the two best things that the corporation has done. This has reduced the influx of these anti-social elements. The newly-made boundary wall along gurdwara road has also helped a lot in the cause.
"I am a student of ICL College. Initially, I and my friends used to come down to Vashi depot to catch a bus for Koper Khairane but due to the nuisance created by these eve-teasers, we had started avoiding this place but now that the depot has been redeveloped, we have finally decided to catch the bus from this bus depot," said Zulfin Bux, another resident.
NMMT Turbhe Depot administrator Sunil Salunkhe informed, "We had received many complaints earlier about this and had also asked the police to look into the matter. The police used to organise regular patrolling to ensure that no such nuisance is created. We have redeveloped and shifted few of the stops from here, so the buses don’t cross each other, this would avoid chaos on the roads."
Though now most of the problems are resolved and people have started frequenting this depot. But the problem of illegal vendors still needs to be taken care of. Sharmila Rane, a regular commuter on this rooute said, “No doubt the transport authorities have removed the illegal hawkers, but still cigarettes are sold at the corner of WOW tea centre which troubles us as many people while smoking stare at girls entering and exiting the depot. As per rules, selling cigarettes at public places is an offence. But to the dismay of girls, the authorities are not taking any action.

Many girls were earlier avoiding this depot due to eve-teasing. The renovation work has instilled confidence in them. ”
— minakshi ughade

—Jaspal Singh Naol