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BMC promise rides on patchwork
Work on filling potholes on roads is in full swing; it may meet its deadline of Monday if it does not rain BMCmay prove the sceptics wrong and fill all potholes in the city if it does not pour in the next 24 hours. With barely 24 hours to go for the deadline for making the city pothole-free, Sunday saw hectic work in progress on the roads. Officials from the civic roads and traffic department said the contractors had been issued a clear-cut directive to ensure that all the potholes and bad stretches in the city were covered by the end of Monday.
However, while there was an earnest effort to meet the deadline, not all potholes were being treated scientifically. While all the 16 potholes at Telang Road in Matunga were filled up, asphalt-gravel mix was manually used to fill them up. Nikhil Desai, a resident, suggested that the craters would resurface in the very next downpour. “Unless these potholes are treated scientifically, they will keep resurfacing and the corporation will keep spending taxpayers? money in filling them up.”
An assistant engineer with the roads and traffic department, however, said the asphalt mix was traditionally being used to fill the potholes. Chief engineer DL Shinde said all roads that were to be taken up for improvement were being filled up using asphalt mix.
The imported Carboncor technology used by BMCwas being used on other roads. Shinde was confidence that his department would ensure that the deadline would be met. When asked about the resurfacing of potholes, Shinde said the immediate aim for his department was to make sure that all roads in the city were motorable. “othole filling is a continuous process that way. We will fill them up again should they resurface,” he said.
But not all, including people from the ruling alliance, are convinced with the work. Ravindra Waikar, standing committee chairperson said, “One person in the administration says Sumer Company, which supplies Carboncor technology, is doing a brilliant job, while the other says contractors should not be blamed. In this argument, the public is suffering.”On Monday, the corporation will have to keep up its momentum and also keep its fingers crossed in the hope that the skies do not open up. Potholes still exist on roads like the Hormusji Adenwalla Road near Five Gardens in King’s Circle, Vincent Square near Dadar Colony, and Sir Bhalchandra Road at Dadar in the island city.
Motorists and commuters complained that traffic on the Eastern Express Highway slowed down because of potholes near Ramabai Colony in Ghatkopar. The same was the case with Western Express Highway, another road maintained by MMRDA. Huge craters existed on a stretch between Andheri and Jogeshwari and another at Vile Parle.
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