MUMBAI, June 18 -- After three months of sustained campaigning by South Mumbai residents, the 'Unlock the Exit' campaign secured its first significant breakthrough: the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has indicated a willingness to consider the long-pending demand for a coastal road exit at Nepean Sea Road.

In a meeting held last week between MSRDC and the BMC, the state agency responded positively to the proposal for the first time according to senior civic officials privy to the matter. Earlier requests, they said, had been either rejected or stonewalled but MSRDC now appeared to be ready for a discussion on relinquishing a 10.5-metre-wide strip of land owned by it on Nepean Sea Road, from where the exit has been...