Umbergaon Industries Association has sent a letter to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari demanding construction of a four-lane national highway from Umbergaon to Talasari, located on the border of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Association President Naresh Banthia and Secretary Taher Vora personally met and submitted this memorandum.

The letter states that Umbergaon is a major industrial area located near the Gujarat border, about 125 km from Mumbai, where about 1,500 industrial units are operating and about one lakh workers are employed. This route from Talasari to Umbergaon is about 17 kilometers long, of which about 600 meters falls in Gujarat and the remaining 16.4 kilometers in Maharashtra.

Umbergaon-Talasari road: Presently this road is very narrow, dilapidated and has two lanes, due to which industries and common citizens are facing a lot of trouble. It is the only direct route connecting JNPT Port, Mumbai Market, Bhiwandi Transport Centre, Mumbai Airport and Union Territory Silvassa. The poor conditions cause delays of more than an hour during rush hour.

With Talasari being the entry and exit point of the proposed Navi Mumbai-New Delhi Expressway, the traffic pressure is likely to increase further in the future. Due to the limited width of the present road, the movement of buses, trucks and 40 feet long containers is not possible smoothly, which often leads to traffic jams.

If this route is expanded to four lanes, it will provide huge benefits not only to the industries of Umbergaon but also to the citizens of Talasari and surrounding areas. This area has been deprived of development till now and this project will prove helpful in its overall development. Besides, this road will also be extremely beneficial for the industrialists commuting from Mumbai to Umbergaon daily.

The association has expressed its expectation of considering this important project seriously and quickly and taking a positive decision.

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