(MENAFN- Live Mint) Residents of several villages in Maharashtra on Friday staged a protest, expressing anguish over the administration's apathy and the deteriorating condition of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway (NH-48), which is riddled with potholes and causes severe traffic snarls. More than 100 of them wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting a nod to die by suicide as their“ordeal is insufferable".

Residents of Sasunavghar, Maljipada, Sasupada, Bobat Pada, and Patharpada stated that a journey which used to take just an hour, over the last two months, reportedly turned into a five- to six-hour nightmare.

Sushant Patil, an activist from a local NGO leading the protests told Hindustan Times,“Dying would be better than living like this."

“The ordeal is insufferable. Children in the villages have missed their exams, and people have missed their flights. Medical emergencies are also a matter of serious concern, as the nearest hospital is in Mira Road. Usually, you could reach the hospital in 20 minutes, but now it is also taking more than three hours,” he said.

He mentioned that the protest would not stop until authorities take concrete action, saying,“We want the authorities to hear us and take action. For years, our prayers and cries have been falling on deaf ears,” he said. The lives of people living in these villages completely depend on NH-48.”

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The residents stated that their daily lives have been disrupted because of the alleged carelessness by the project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI ), including other officials. The letter, seen by HT, stated,“Despite submitting multiple representations, no concrete action has been taken. We therefore strongly demand that disciplinary action be taken against these officials.”

The residents alleged that the authorities have entirely disregarded a recent order issued by the Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police department, banning the transit of large vehicles past Chinchoti Naka between October 11 and 14 because of continuous paving and maintenance activities in the Gaimukh Ghat region along Ghodbunder Road in Thane.

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The letter stated,“As a result, a large number of heavy vehicles entered the highway, causing massive traffic jams and paralysing daily life in the Naigaon-Chinchoti region.”

“We urge the government to address these demands immediately. If the administration continues to remain inactive, we citizens will be left with no option but to seek permission to die by suicide in protest against this gross negligence,” the letter added.

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HT tried reaching out to the NHAI project director but received no response.

Meanwhile, MBVV police commissioner Niket Kaushik on Friday released a notification declaring the shutdown of the Chinchoti traffic branch and the transfer of highway traffic management responsibilities to the Vasai and Virar traffic branches, based on their respective areas of jurisdiction.

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