It wasn’t always like this. Through once dense forests and dangerous cliffs, this former military road between Panvel and Pune was built in 1804 by British general Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellington and younger brother of Richard Wellesley, governor-general of India between 1798 and 1805. Later, John Malcolm, Bombay’s governor between 1827 and 1830, opened the road to the public and India’s first mail cart rumbled to Pune.
Before the expressway was built, NH4 was the busiest national highway in Maharashtra. According to records at the Maharashtra State Roads Development Corporation, nearly 5,000 vehicles drove on it daily in 1999. After the expressway opened, in the first year the number dropped about 15-20%, with larger drops in the years following. Last year, just about 6,732 vehicles traversed the highway daily, compared with its swankier cousin carrying 25,441 vehicles.
Rajendra Sakhre, owner of the once-popular Ramakant Village restaurant, recalls the busier days. “The food outlets were flooded with foodie travellers on their way to Pune on weekends. Over weekends we used to be under huge pressure, having many Mahabaleshwar-Matheran bound travellers,” he remembers. “Many Marathi theatre personalities, Bollywood stars were frequent visitors.”
Now, Sakhre’s Ramakant Village is nothing more than a dumpyard, looked after by a sleepy attendant.
Smaller businesses, too, are hit. Ketan Pawar, a teenager from Lodhivali village who spends about half a day trying to sell prune plums by the roadside, sold his wares on a recent day for Rs50, but says it was a rarity.
Santosh Prajapati, 30, an ice candy seller, keeps waiting for customers at Rajmachi Point, a place where he used to make Rs800 a day. He is happy if he manages to earn Rs300 now in a day’s work. “I have lost the love for my job now,” he laments.
Some old loyalists, however, hang on.
P.G. Shelke, a 40-year-old trucker, makes it a point to drive on NH4. “I am a daily driver on this road for the past 15 years. The old road is a tar road, so a semi- or fully loaded truck holds a good grip here. On the concrete expressway, there is a danger of losing the grip as the tyres keep tossing,” he reasons.
“On this road I can happily halt anywhere I want, and give a ride to hitchhikers to make a few extra bucks,” Shelke discloses.