THANE, Oct. 8 -- In a major move to tackle the chronic traffic congestion and illegal parking that plague Thane's Wagle Industrial Estate, officials of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Thane traffic police, and representatives of the Thane Small Scale Industries Association (TSSIA) met last week to draw up an action plan for relief. During the meeting, the traffic police advised the industries' association to appoint a traffic consultant to carry out a detailed study of congestion and parking issues in Wagle Estate and adjoining areas. Based on the consultant's findings, the police said they would implement the recommended solutions and provide full logistical support to ease traffic movement in the industrial belt. To strengthen on-ground monitoring, the traffic department has assigned four dedicated personnel exclusively to Wagle Estate. A WhatsApp group has also been created to include these officers, TSSIA members, and local industry representatives - aimed at ensuring faster communication and quicker redressal of routine traffic complaints without escalation. Eknath Sonawane, executive secretary of TSSIA, said that industry members raised several long-pending issues such as illegal parking and abandoned vehicles, double parking by cars and buses, encroachment by roadside eateries, dumpers parked along roads, garbage dumping, and lack of pedestrian space. "The meeting, chaired by TSSIA president Sandeep Parikh and general secretary Bhavesh Maru, saw participation from around 35 representatives from Thane, Wagle, and Upvan industrial areas," said Sonawane. "TMC's Hemant Gohil from Lokmanya Nagar ward assured that hawkers and encroachments obstructing traffic would soon be relocated to designated zones." Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Pankaj Shirsat said several measures have been decided, including introducing the P1-P2 parking system, converting select roads into one-way routes after a study, deploying four traffic policemen with four TSSIA-appointed wardens, and initiating a crackdown on illegal parking in front of industrial gates within 30 days. "We aim to resolve complaints raised on the WhatsApp group within 10 minutes," Shirsat said....