Mumbai’s Musical Road Closed At Night After Residents Living Nearby Complain
Remember the much-celebrated musical road that was recently inaugurated in Mumbai? Well, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has now decided to restrict vehicle movement on this stretch at night. This decision comes after the authorities received multiple complaints from local residents. As per the recent reports and guidelines, vehicles cannot use this stretch from 10 PM to 7 AM.
Residents living near this musical road, or ‘Jai Ho’ road as people like to call it, have lodged complaints with the authorities over the disturbance. Initially, when this stretch was inaugurated, people were actually enjoying it. Many were posting videos of vehicles passing through this stretch. However, weeks after the inauguration, people started noticing issues.
They realised that this musical road setup was actually creating disturbance and disrupting their sleep, especially at night. Multiple families have complained that they cannot comfortably keep their windows open and that the sound echoes inside their flats.
The Advanced Locality Management of Breach Candy came across this issue and wrote to the government and concerned authorities, urging immediate action. BMC also took note of the complaint and reviewed the request. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation even conducted tests to check the decibel levels at nearby buildings and studied how loud the road really is for people living next to it.
Upon review, they realised that the concerns raised by the locals were genuine and decided to take action. The civic body decided to barricade the musical road stretch at night. Authorities stated that the road will remain open as usual during the day, but at night - from 10 PM to 7 AM - the stretch will be closed to ensure peace for residents living in the area.
The musical road in question was inaugurated in February this year. The basic idea behind this creative piece of infrastructure was to enhance safety, alertness, and also provide a unique driving experience.
If you are wondering how the road produces music, the answer is quite simple. Engineers behind this project have cut grooves into the surface in a very specific pattern. When tyres pass over these grooves at a particular speed, they create vibrations that our ears perceive as musical notes. When the spacing and depth are aligned correctly, those notes form a recognisable tune inside the car.
On the Mumbai Coastal Road, the tune you hear is A. R. Rahman’s “Jai Ho” from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Drivers are alerted in advance with signage placed a few hundred metres before the musical section. This is a 500-metre stretch with grooves on the road. Drivers should maintain a steady speed of 70–80 km/h while driving over this section to ensure the vibrations produce the music. BMC has installed several signboard on this stretch to ensure that the commuters are aware of this musical road and adjust their speed accordingly rather than doing sudden braking which would cause accidents.
This is the first time we are seeing such a musical road in India, but similar concepts exist in countries like Hungary, Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.