MUMBAI, Jan. 30 -- Calling it a "tragedy waiting to happen", residents of Lokhandwala Township in Kandivali East said illegal parking of autorickshaws caused a critical delay in fire engines entering a residential complex where a fire broke out late on Wednesday night, forcing residents to tackle the blaze on their own. The fire was reported around 11pm from the kitchen of a first-floor flat in Highland building No 5. Fire brigade vehicles reached the locality within seven minutes of the distress call, but were unable to enter the housing complex for nearly 15 minutes as hundreds of autorickshaws were parked on both sides of the approach road, blocking access to the society gate. Residents said the delay could have proved fatal had the fire spread beyond the kitchen. "Those 15 minutes felt endless. Fire engines were right outside, but couldn't move an inch," said a resident who witnessed the incident. For over a decade, residents of Lokhandwala Township, home to nearly 20,000 flats, have been raising complaints about illegal autorickshaw parking along the main road connecting the area to the Western Express Highway. Despite repeated complaints to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the traffic police, residents allege no sustained or effective action has been taken. "Every time there is an incident, authorities wake up briefly and then it's back to square one," said Santosh Shetty, a resident. "We warned them that this congestion is a tragedy waiting to happen." The township is connected to the highway by a 1.5-km-long road that is 90 feet wide. However, residents say the width exists only on paper. On a daily basis, the road is lined with shops, crowded with pedestrians, and choked by autorickshaws parked illegally on both sides. A large garbage dump along the stretch further narrows the passage, leaving barely enough room for regular vehicles, let alone emergency responders. "Even ambulances struggle here. Imagine the difficulty faced by a fire engine at night, with no space to turn or reverse," said another resident, requesting anonymity. As firefighters attempted to manoeuvre their vehicle through the bottleneck, residents of the affected flat decided they could not afford to wait any longer. They managed to douse the flames themselves using household equipment and shut off the main electrical supply to prevent the fire from spreading. "The fire was eventually categorised as minor, but the delay was terrifying," said VM Malpe, a resident of Highland Society. "If it had spread to adjoining flats or reached the electrical wiring, the outcome could have been disastrous." Residents alleged that a majority of the autorickshaws parked overnight belong to drivers from nearby areas such as Dhanukarwadi. They demanded that police restrict parking to a single lane for autorickshaws owned by local residents and prohibit drivers from other localities "It has been more than five years since we began approaching the police regularly," Shetty said. "They keep citing lack of manpower. During the recent municipal elections, we even submitted a list of demands to candidates who came seeking votes. Now we want to see whether our elected representative will finally resolve this." Senior police inspector Jagdish Bhopale of the Samta Nagar traffic division said the department penalises around 150 autorickshaw drivers every day along Akurli Road but conceded that enforcement alone has not solved the problem. He added that the department had taken note of a video showing the fire engine struggling to enter the society, which had gone viral, and assured appropriate action. Newly elected councillor Neelam Gurav, when contacted, said she had personally inspected the area and acknowledged that illegal parking posed a serious safety hazard. She said parking begins from around 6pm with a single lane, but by midnight expands to three lanes, blocking most of the road and society entrances. "This is a serious safety issue," Gurav said. "I have asked the traffic police to initiate action from today itself." Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar of the Dahisar Fire Brigade said haphazard parking often creates major challenges during emergency responses. "Such issues do arise at times and can significantly hamper firefighting operations. Since the Lokhandwala fire was minor, we have not yet received a detailed report, but I will look into the matter," he said....