MUMBAI, May 22 -- Two of the city's poshest neighbourhoods are battling it out over exits to the Mumbai Coastal Road. For at least a year, Breach Candy residents have been demanding an additional exit at nearby Nepean Sea Road, to share the traffic spillage into their locality. Now, the Nepean Sea Road camp is no longer speaking in one voice. A section of residents from Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill appear to have switched sides. On May 4, residents of 120 housing societies from the wider Breach Candy, Kemps Corner, Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill areas participated in a signature campaign, urging chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to approve the additional exit. Leading the initiative is the Breach Candy Residents' Forum (BCRF), which in March launched the 'Unlock The Exit' campaign, named after the additional exit that already exists in the city's Development Plan. The forum is now leaning on the BMC to "unlock" it. The social media initiative aims to ease mounting traffic congestion near the Amarsons interchange in their neighbourhood. The BCRF has repeatedly pointed out that the additional exit can be built on a plot owned by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) next to Priyadarshini Park on Nepean Sea Road. Senior civic officials say the BMC has written to MSRDC seeking transfer of the land but has not received a response. Addressing the very real challenge of traffic congestion in these exclusive enclaves in South Mumbai involves more than convincing MSRDC to hand over a parcel of land. Breach Candy, Malabar Hill and Kemps Corner, quiet, leafy neighbourhoods, are home to some of Mumbai's movers and shakers. Resolving an issue of this scale will require some tricky moves from the political establishment. Ever since BCRF started demanding the exit, Nepean Sea Road residents feared it would push congestion deep into their quiet residential lanes such as Altamount Road. Rahul Kadri, chairperson of the Nepean Sea Road Citizens Forum (NCRCF) questions both the necessity and estimated Rs.200 crore cost of the project, arguing that congestion in Breach Candy lasts for "barely two hours" and "delays commuters by only around 15 minutes". Several Malabar Hill residents voice similar concerns. They say even routine road work on Nepean Sea Road leads to traffic gridlock during non-peak hours and warned that opening an exit here would be catastrophic for them. Residents who now appear to have done a U-turn point out that an exit at Nepean Sea Road would offer them easy access to the Coastal Road, which has converted a 60-minute crawl from Marine Drive to Bandra into a seamless 15-minute drive. Emboldened by their support, BCRF, led by Nandini Chabria, says, it is unfair for one neighbourhood to shoulder the traffic burden of an entire corridor. "Ours is an evidence-based campaign showing how the exit is feasible and necessary," she says. Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a pivotal figure in the row, said discussions would be held with residents before any decision is taken....