Our representatives must be proactive without our protest

The election this time is quite confusing and disturbing. When leaders switch over to different political parties, before as well as after elections, it leads to a loss of faith among people. At the least, one should not be allowed to switch parties after the election. As opposed to previous elections where candidates fought over development and local issues, in rallies today and on social media, they resort to personal attacks on each other. Citizens are definitely considering this while voting.
Panvel is emerging as one of the fast-developing region of Navi Mumbai, with several mega projects having come up in the last few years and more expected to come. As Navi Mumbai airport is getting ready, its connectivity with good roads is visible. Earlier the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) road would be perennially jammed, making travel very difficult. Commuting is now very easy on the route, Atal Setu is definitely among the best infra projects in recent times. However, there is a need to urgently attend to the matter and ensure the infrastructure that supports the new developments develops just as fast.
Since new residential and commercial towers have come up, and redevelopment of old buildings in the nodes are taking place, residents are facing a lot of traffic problems. Flyovers are jammed most of the time. The Kalamboli junction, which is the route to access Panvel, is a huge bottleneck. We can travel easily up to Kalamboli, but crossing it is a nightmare. Most motorists take the longer route via the airport road to Kamothe to avoid Kalamboli junction.
Another crucial pending issue is vehicle parking. In commercial areas, it is very difficult to find parking space. There is a need for multi-level parking facilities and designated parking areas. In areas where there are roads on both sides, with dividers, parking needs to be allowed on both sides of the road rather than sticking to the odd-even parking scheme.
The water shortage problem has improved in some areas like New Panvel, but it is not yet entirely resolved. Potholes are a regular feature on our roads, which clearly have to do with low quality materials used in road construction. These things need to be paid attention to as well.
When we elect our representative, we expect issues like these to be routinely solved. Morchas and protests by residents to meet concerned authorities are frequent in my region. Citizens should not have to be the ones on the job of following up with authorities or holding regular meetings with their representatives. We expect our representative to be proactive and serve for the betterment of citizens, regardless of the political party he or she is affiliated to.
(As told to G Mohiuddin Jeddy)