Auto-rickshaw drivers in Vasai-Virar have warned of a rickshaw strike if the civic administration does not repair the heavily damaged Naigaon East-Bapane road within a week, escalating pressure over a five-kilometre stretch used daily by residents and local transport operators.
The warning was issued by Eknath Patil, president of the Juchandra Rickshaw Drivers and Owners Association, according to a report by Loksatta. The road is reported to be covered with large potholes, forcing motorists to manoeuvre around damaged sections and increasing the difficulty of daily travel.
The deteriorating road has also become a financial burden for auto-rickshaw operators. Repeated movement over potholes is damaging spare parts and increasing the frequency of repairs, adding to maintenance costs for drivers whose earnings depend on keeping their vehicles on the road. Residents and drivers have also raised concerns about the heightened risk of accidents.
The latest warning follows earlier protests and threats over the same road. Three days before the report, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction Naigaon city chief Mangesh Chavan, along with residents, had warned the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation of a road blockade in the Reliable area. The report said there had been no visible improvement a week after that warning.
Road work had begun against the backdrop of the municipal elections, but its slow pace has failed to prevent the surface from deteriorating again. The administration had also promised to make the city pothole-free before the Ganesh festival. According to the report, that assurance had not been implemented even after the festival, leaving commuters to continue negotiating damaged sections of the route.
The dispute highlights how a local road failure can quickly become a wider mobility problem. The Naigaon East-Bapane route is used not only by private vehicles but also by auto-rickshaws that provide short-distance connectivity for residents. Prolonged road damage therefore affects travel conditions, operating costs and the availability of local transport at the same time.
Patil has given the municipal administration one week to repair the road. If the repairs are not completed within that period, the association has warned that it will launch an intensified rickshaw strike. The administration’s response and the pace of work on the five-kilometre stretch will determine whether the latest protest threat is withdrawn or proceeds.
