BMC experiments with six new technologies

A budget provision of about Rs 40 lakh has been made for the same. If enough companies manage to provide a real solution,the BMC will include their material in the schedule under the tender for the next road repair contracts that will be awarded for a period between March 2012 and March 2014.

Despite the availability of cold mixes to fill potholes,the strong road contractors lobby has not let these be used for city roads because of their high cost as compared to the hot-mix asphalt. Moreover,most contractors have their own asphalt plants and do not want to use these products. The products for which presentation was made to road officials and Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta include Patch-master,Hindustan Colaco,Wonder-patch,Shalimar Tar product,Geo-polymer and Carbon-core.

Standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale said one executive engineer for every zone will monitor resurfacing by each company. “By Friday,we will decide the six stretches and observe them keenly over the next few rainy days. Then we will decide which technologies are worth the money we are paying. While a normal asphalt patch of one square metre costs not more than Rs 700,all these technologies cost more than Rs 2,000 for the same area. In case they are durable we do not mind spending that much,” said Shewale.

Since water easily corrodes asphalt,most advanced countries have stopped using it for pothole-filling. Moreover,the hot mix that most BMC contractors use takes a long time to dry and traffic conditions never allow the mix to dry properly,which also leads to easy wearing off.

Gupta said since all these new technologies are patents only one company is supplying them. “These are monopolies of a kind and giving all rights of supply to a small group is not advisable. It goes against the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission. But we are exploring their use and will take further decision as per the recommendation of the STAC,” he said.

Deepak Shah of Sumer Infra that supplies carbon-core said even while their technology is expensive,it will last at least three monsoons. “The patch work that I have carried out using carbon-core in A ward during the monsoon of 2008 has still not worn off. Is it not worth the money spent?” he asked. Newsline visited some of these spots near Mantralaya,in Colaba and Kala Ghoda and found that patch-work in carbon-core was still intact.

However,a BMC road contractor said considering the topography of the city and poor drainage,more material can stay put. “Drainage is better in A ward and roads tend to stay better here. Try carbon-core in the suburbs and see if the results are the same. Moreover,it is against the rules to make it mandatory for us to use such materials,” he said.

the six mixes,