Reay Road, Saat Rasta, Sewri - the list of congested roads in Mumbai is endless. And things only get worse by night. With scores of slum-dwellers 
sleeping sometimes on pavements, dividers or even the roads, the drive home can be a dangerous adventure.

"So many people sleep in the middle of the road, it's amazing," says Nitin Dosa, executive chairman, Western India Automobile Association (WIAA). "In the Alistair Pereira case, I agree the guy was drunk but the people whom he hit were sleeping on the road, not even on the pavement."

Motorists say even if one is sober, driving at night especially in the eastern suburbs is a nightmare. "I have to be careful near Worli as many people sleep on the road," says fashion designer Rajvi Shah. Anil Kakkar, director of Global Insurance, adds, "At Crawford Market, people sleep absolutely anywhere. The only solution is to drive carefully." Prathamesh Bandekar, a biker, says number of people sleeping on roads rises in summer as they find their shanties too hot.

The solution, experts say, lies in rehabilitating pavement dwellers. For instance, labourers at construction sites should be properly housed. "Construction workers should be taken care of," says past president of WIAA, Sunil Merchant.

"I believe there has been a positive change and the number of pavement dwellers has reduced,'' says P S Pasricha, former DGP Maharashtra, who, during his stint as city's traffic chief , made road safety one of his key missions. "For some bad areas like Saat Rasta, the municipal corporation should conduct a joint drive with the police. These people musn't occupy the entire footpath."
 
Source: The Times of India