Matheran residents begin digging alternative road

MUMBAI: Troubled by the "inadequate'' public transport system and the "autocracy'' of taxi drivers on the Neral-Matheran road, residents of Matheran have started digging an alternative road on one side of the hill to connect the hill station to Panvel. They are demanding that the government should immediately start the Matheran-Panvel link project which, according to them, was proposed long ago.But environmentalists fear such developments will violate the environment.
Over a hundred villagers gathered at Sunset Point on November 11 and dug the hillside along the narrow path, leading towards Doodhani (a village located at a one-hour walking distance on the foothills of Matheran, which is already linked to Panvel by a `kachcha' road). Till Tuesday, the villagers had dug a road of approximately 100 mts and had reinforced it with boulders and sandbags. However, they say they will act only after getting the government's approval.
"This road is the need of the hour, if approved and constructed by the government, it will resolve all our woes. It will also reduce the distance from Mumbai to Matheran by up to 30 km. Currently, the distance is approximately 90 km while travelling via Neral,'' said Murtaza Matheranwala, a villager.
At present, there is road access to Matheran via Neral and also a toy-train service between the two stations. Three trains on a weekday and four trains on weekends run on the track and a bus is deployed by the government. However, locals say the transport system is not adequate and the high-handed attitude of Neral taxi drivers has added to their woes.
"The proposals to increase the frequency of trains and to start a shuttle service (rail bus) on the Neral-Matheran route have been stuck in red tape for long. Moreover, locals cannot afford the fare charged by taxi drivers. The taxi drivers have, in fact, burnt a bus a few weeks ago and have gone on strike, opposing the bus service plying on the route,'' said a villager. He added that this had forced the residents to come up with a plan for an alternative road.
The residents claim that a proposal for the road was fielded way back in the 1960s. "Our first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan inaugurated this project but, unfortunately, it was shelved later,'' said Haribhai Mehta, a resident who owns a hotel in Matheran.
While the villagers say they have undertaken voluntary labour only to draw the government's attention to the road, a few property owners of Matheran have raised serious environmental concerns over the development. "Parts of that side of the hill had already collapsed in the huge downpour in July 2006. The construction of this road may lead to more rock-sliding as a steep slope below Sunset Point is being excavated. By removing the soil and uprooting the rock structure for constructing the road, they are doing irreparable damage to the forest,'' said Adil Gandhi who owns a bungalow in Matheran.
The government is also not convinced by the possibility of a road being constructed in the area. However, government officials said they would look for alternative options to connect the hill station to Panvel. "The hill's slope is steep, it is not possible to build a road there. We have proposed a trolly-train route on that side of the hill, a one-bogey train will be pulled with the help of ropes. Soon we will come up with plans for the project,'' PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal said.
Another resident Zinobia Lord said, "Any development should be done after getting permission from the government. Without a proper survey about its feasibility and the guidance of engineers, a road cannot be built.''