MUMBAI, Feb. 6 -- Blocking a right turn at Kandivali was meant to ease traffic chaos, but was it the right decision? The turn, at the end of Akurli Road, and which allows motorists to proceed from Kandivali railway station to the Western Express Highway (WEH), has been blocked from the beginning of February. The idea, according to the local authorities, is to prevent errant motorists, especially autorickshaw drivers, from causing chaos at the traffic junction. Residents say autorickshaws that ply towards Hanuman Nagar, Kandivali Lokhandwala, Damu Nagar and other areas drive rashly and inadvertently block motorists wanting to turn right towards the WEH. Adding to the chaos are BEST buses and other heavy vehicles approaching from the opposite direction while proceeding towards Kandivali station. But it's the autorickshaws that's upsetting local residents. They say rickshaws stop in the middle of the street to pick up and drop off passengers; they make ad hoc U-turns in gaps in the road dividers here; and vehicles spill onto the wrong side of the road in a bid to get ahead. Traffic signals at the Akurli subway and the efforts of traffic police are futile, residents say. "It is unfair to blame only auto drivers as this road is heavily used. We will write to the authorities, asking them to review this step," said Thampy Kurien, who heads the Mumbai Autorickshawmen's Union. "Akurli Road is perennially congested and witnesses acute jams, especially during peak hours. We decided to discontinue the right-turn after detailed discussions with local residents," said a traffic police officer. Not all local residents are pleased. Locals now have to drive an additional half kilometre on the narrow Akurli Road and take a U-turn to double back. "The authorities could have instead installed a traffic signal," says Santosh Shetty, a resident of Kandivali Lokhandwala. The traffic chaos here has multiple reasons. The road is just 90 feet wide, with shops and parked vehicles on either side further narrowing its width. Moreover, many lanes intersect at this point, causing traffic to converge here. Complaints have been raging for over a decade to widen the roads. There is a plan to connect the entrance of Lokhandwala to Thakur Village to ease vehicular movement. "This is the same road that leads to Kandivali Lokhandwala, where earlier last week fire engines were delayed owing to haphazardly parked autorickshaws," said a local resident. Raj Kashyap, a resident of Kandivali Lokhandwala, said, "Earlier, motorists knew that there was a right turn after the Akurli subway, and a traffic policeman was posted there. With the U-turn being shifted further ahead, there is no one to monitor vehicles, including autorickshaws, who invariably take a sharp turn, without warning. A traffic signal at the original location would have been a better option."...