[FarPatel]

Thanks Ghodlur, then the reason, at Vashi at least, may be that the stickers have not been provided on time. Or something similar.

[FarPatel]

OK, the Vashi toll passes were being renewed this morning. Long line and many cars but a couple of workers did manage to keep the vehicles parked sensibly to avoid a traffic jam. Couldn't figure out the reason for the delay. Must have been an internal issue.
Ghodlur, you had said that you paid for the pass online. So how do you get the monthly sticker? Do you still have to visit the booth, stand in line and get it?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by FarPatel

OK, the Vashi toll passes were being renewed this morning. Long line and many cars but a couple of workers did manage to keep the vehicles parked sensibly to avoid a traffic jam. Couldn't figure out the reason for the delay. Must have been an internal issue.
Ghodlur, you had said that you paid for the pass online. So how do you get the monthly sticker? Do you still have to visit the booth, stand in line and get it?

I don't get the monthly sticker on the card, the RFID tag does the job. In case of any issues with RFID lane and I take any other lane, I just flash the payment print or if reqd the SMS recd of the toll pass validity.

Its a great relief from standing in the line for the sticker, sparing exact amount of toll and time loss. Paying online by credit card is a breeze. Have been doing this for the past 4 months.

[FarPatel]

I should think about this too, but at the Vashi toll plaza the RFID system either doesn't work, or else they disable it for quicker dispersal of vehicles. Also, the receipt is too flimsy and the details are not easily legible through the closed windows, so I think I'll stick with the stickers for now.
Cheers

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by FarPatel

Sion-Chembur-CBD route :
1. large pothole bang in the middle of the curved flyover into Chembur;

2. curved flyover at Turbhe going towards Juinagar is literally a lunar surface, especially at its base.

3. Also, the rightmost lane approaching the Vashi toll naka towards Mumbai... if you hit the brakes here your car will go anywhere but straight ahead

Thanks for the tips. Came in handy during the trip last week.

The first two were a regular affair (I was staying in Chembur between 2011 & 2013). The second one (flyover at Turbhe) was a nightmare as traffic used to crawl, since all the truck traffic (from Thane side) converge here, pretty frustrating to cross this point.

Vashi toll naka also appears to have undertaken differently spaced toll booths, instead of a single row (a-la Khargar) to manage traffic. So to that extent, it was manageable.

But during the trip, I had this horrible experience of an auto taking a sudden turn (just before the Eastern Freeway / Shivajichowk junction). Night time + Downpour + Black Vehicle (without headlights) = Disaster waiting to happen.

Who ever thought of 'kaali peeli' colour combination for the taxis and ricks hasn't had the above experience..... would rather prefer the colours to be changed to 'peeli (body) and safed (roof)' - better visibility as well as more suited for humid Mumbai climate?

[mxh]

Deadly potholes along the road which connects Balasaheb Thackrey flyover to Prathmesh complex (Veera Desai Road) to Behram baug. Unless you live in Prathmesh complex, better to avoid this road if you love your car.

[ravradha]

The news, just now, paints a bad picture of the weather at Mumbai. Is it the normal monsoon rain, or is it very high now, so as cause a flooding or serious damage?

[PPS]

some parts of Mumbai are resembling Venice today!
Traffic is worse as usual. Fortunately took the train (WR) & saved a few hours of travel. As is the case sometimes, not much rain in Fort/Churchgate area compared to other parts of Mumbai.

[subuiyer]

Originally Posted by ravradha

The news, just now, paints a bad picture of the weather at Mumbai. Is it the normal monsoon rain, or is it very high now, so as cause a flooding or serious damage?

High or low is relative to ones' baseline. But I have lived in Mumbai for more than 35 years and to me this is 'normal'.

Average cumulative rain in Mumbai and surrounding regions for Jul and Aug are around 750 and 500 mm respectively. More importantly the average number of days with rain are nearly 30, which means on an average it is expected to rain every day during these two months. It is not uncommon for one to experience blocks of 24 hrs of non-stop rain dumping 100-200 mm in this region including the city. This is also applicable to the entire Western Ghats from Kerala to northern Maharashtra.

Mumbai is the only city with that kind of population density in this region (and most likely with so many wannabe reporters who need to get some content to their editorial team to keep 24/7 channels running), so the only one in news most of the time.

Most spots shown flooded in news are chronic spots probably flooding since they were constructed. I am sure every city and town in the world has some of these. But Mumbai is also easily the city with the most water draining capacity in India. No other city or town in our country comes even close on this aspect. So we had our 26th July 2005, but people don't realize that some areas got 944 mm on that day, half of it in a span of 5 hours - 2013 Uttarakand is said ('said' because there was no rain guage) to have received a third of it.

To put into perspective, here are some comparisons:
In the US the city (> pop million) with highest avg annual rainfall is Houston, Texas with an average of ~ 1300 mm (a big chunk of it dumped in very short time by hurricanes in a period of 3-4 months).

Sticking to nearby latitude and tropical forest settings:

Rio de Janeiro, on the other hand gets half of Mumbai's annual tally but it rains all 12 months (7-15 rain days per months on avg)

Hong Kong, another island city in the tropics with high population density gets ~ 1300 mm (half of Mumbai's avg).

Rangoon gets similar rain volume as Mumbai (~2600mm), but has 4.5 mil (1/5th of Mumbai's population).

That the Mumbai Municipality, PWD and other departments responsible make a mess of the situation is well know and I would not waste space here - too much has been said about them.

Drivers would have noticed that the top layer of nearly all arterial roads in the city have weathered off in just the last ten days of ran.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by subuiyer

High or low is relative to ones' baseline. But I have lived in Mumbai for more than 35 years and to me this is 'normal'.


Drivers would have noticed that the top layer of nearly all arterial roads in the city have weathered off in just the last ten days of ran.

Perfectly agree on both points above. 32 yers in this city and this kind of rain is pretty normal. We did not get such rains last year but this year the rains have been pretty much as usual.

the media as usual is in an overdrive. Why can't they for once focus on real troubling issues like bad roads or corrupt BMC babus and their corrupt road contractors.

The WEH is in a huge mess, with the whole surface right from Kandivali to Jogeshwari completely wiped off. (leaving a stretch around aarey flyover).

I don't know how many months they are going to take to repair this mess.

I have stopped driving and hope that these gets repaired ASAP, though i am not sure whether they would even try doing it with the rains still on. Till then it is the company bus + BEST bus to the rescue.

I hold a great respect for the BEST guys. They are the most hated people around town but still provide an unfailing service.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[subuiyer]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

The WEH is in a huge mess, with the whole surface right from Kandivali to Jogeshwari completely wiped off. (leaving a stretch around aarey flyover).

Yesterday was drier and in the afternoon/evening the whole stretch after Aarey until Thakur complex was covered in a haze caused by dust kicked by traffic on the WEH. I wondered if they dumped gravel over large sections or if it is just the grit that has come off.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

this kind of rain is pretty normal. We did not get such rains last year but this year the rains have been pretty much as usual.

The quantity of rain is normal but the pattern has been pretty much disturbing. Having lived 40+ years in this maximum city, the pattern of the rainfall has been too erratic. At times the intensity is too high with sudden dips. The rains used to be pretty much same all through out the 4 monsoon months.

Luckily the eastern express highway has not witnessed any huge damages to the road. Even the roads in Thane has been pretty decent esp the Ghodbunder Road, however the flyovers have their share of craters. The worst hit are the interior roads where the shoddy work was seen by the end of June month when the upper layers of the roads had been literally peeled off exposing the way the roads are laid. There will be respite when the roads gets re paved and the only possibility is post monsoons in October I guess.

Whoever gave the idea of filling the potholes with paver blocks must be nominated for the Bharat ratna and Nobel prizes.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Whoever gave the idea of filling the potholes with paver blocks must be nominated for the Bharat ratna and Nobel prizes.

and must be nominated along side Elon musk for the best Innovator as well.

Jokes apart, these guys must be behind bars for criminal waste of public money.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[noopster]

Visarjan madness- am stuck on JVLR heading for Powai for the past hour. Traffic shows no signs of clearing. The immerssions into Powai lake from last night are apparently delayed. Please avoid this route if possible.

[ShaileshHinge]

Originally Posted by noopster

Visarjan madness- am stuck on JVLR heading for Powai for the past hour. Traffic shows no signs of clearing. The immerssions into Powai lake from last night are apparently delayed. Please avoid this route if possible.

Are you coming in from Jogeshwari ?

I came to Powai from Vashi. Was routine. Just the usual crawl from Gnagar bridge till IIT Main Gate. rest was fine. coming in from western might be issue.