Rs 24 cr spent on roads goes down drain
With the monsoon reaching its peak, the quality of roads in the city is going from bad to worse, according to the recent figures released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The potholed locations have increased from 1,316 to 2,436 within seven days of the heavy downpour. The BMC claimed to have attended to 90 per cent of these locations and had said only 231 were left.
Despite having spent Rs 24 crore out of Rs 40-crore budget for road repairs prior to monsoon, city roads continue to be in poor condition. Before the onset of monsoon, the civic body had drawn up a list of 3,093 locations marked with big and small potholes. It had claimed to have repaired 3,055 locations by mid-June. Another 1,392 locations were found potholed in the month of June out of which 1,316 were repaired.
Officials from the Roads Department said the pothole filing was giving away in many locations due to constant wet spells.
Additional Municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta said Rs 28 crore has been spent so far and if the need be, more funds will be sought to repair roads during monsoon. “Moreover, the new concrete roads will be constructed in such a way that underground utilities on the side of a road will be put into a duct to prevent frequent digging and ensure better quality roads,” said Gupta.