With a population of over four lakh, Cheeta Camp in Trombay is one of the tight-knit clusters of Mumbai’s eastern suburbs. The whole area’s traffic connects to one arterial road — the MG Ramachandran Marg — which remains incomplete even after three years, causing hassle for the people living there, who claim that the area has become a hotspot for accidents.

This road connects to the main VN Purav road and has two public landmarks at its entry — the Trombay police station and the Shahaji Nagar Municipal Public School — which are often visited by the residents. The half-concreted condition of the 800-metre stretch has been like this for the past three years. When the road was initially being dug, the residents of the area were told that the work would be done within a month. However, after three years, the dug-up road, with cracks and potholes, has become even worse to use.

“We have been asking the authorities since the time they stopped the project in the first month after digging it up, but we have had no action from their side,” said Asif Sayyed, an activist and a resident of Cheeta Camp. Sayyed says that every time they escalate their complaints to the BMC, they see a little change, which is soon abandoned. “We have had times where we have sat in the ward office for hours, just so that the authorities pay heed to our needs, and when they do, we have seen them leave the work half done,” added Sayyed.