No problem, says BMC
Mumbai: With the Bombay High Court slamming the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) yet again for its failure to fix the potholes on Mumbai’s roads, the civic body has a big task on hand: Fill thousands of potholes in 15 days.
But it’s not worried. On the contrary, Additional Municipal Commissioner Shrikanth Singh is confident they can do it before the court’s August 30 deadline.
‘‘We will be filling up all the existing potholes before Ganesh Chaturthi on August 27. There will be no problem,’’ he claimed.
In June, the BMC had informed the court that it had completed its pre-monsoon work and filled 8,500 potholes. After five days of showers in early July though, the BMC counted 8,112 potholes and told the court it would redo the patches at a cost of Rs 15.5 crore.
Then, in July end, the BMC was forced to admit that 1,123 potholes had resurfaced. It then issued a 25-day deadline to private contractors to fill all potholes by August 27. The contractors, Chief Engineer Mohan Kadam said, would be penalised if they failed to do so.
‘‘We are in a better state than last year and more well-prepared and alert,’’ said Singh, adding that Rs 36 crore has been earmarked for asphalting this year and the BMC has appointed 24 agencies for road repairs as compared to last year’s 12.The only hurdle, Singh said, could be the rains.
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