Amid intensified showers in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received 413 pothole-related complaints on its 'My BMC pothole fixit' digital portal over the past few days, of which the civic body has resolved 329. However, this is much lower than the actual number of pothole-related grievances-of which the civic body has received over 6,200 since the onset of monsoon-with many pointing to the lack of awareness among residents. Launched in 2019, the 'My BMC pothole fixit' had been introduced in a bid to address pothole-related complaints, which witness an uptick during monsoons. The application-which had replaced the 'Voice of Citizens' app-enables residents to register complaints, identify the location of the pothole and keep the complainant abreast of the developments pertaining to the resolution of the potholes. As per the data furnished by the BMC this year, Mumbaikars have raised 413 complaints on the My pothole fixit application from the onset of monsoon until Thursday. Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior official said that 329 of the total plaints has been addressed so far. However, this accounts for only six percent of the total complaints in the city with the BMC data reflecting that over 6,231 pothole-related complaints have been recorded from June until now. According to civic officials, the actual number is significantly higher as the figures are recorded by the civic engineers through inspections, social media as well as telephonic complaints. Meanwhile, despite having completed five years, the 'My Pothole Fixit' application has been unable to rise to the popularity of its predecessor 'Voice of Citizens' application, resulting in under-reporting of the potholes. Several officials as well as residents have pointed to the lack of awareness as the primary cause for the underreporting on the application. Shantanu Kulkarni, director of Probitysoft, which has developed and is currently running the civic app, told The Indian Express, “Earlier on the older 'Voice of Citizens' app, which ran between 2011 and 2016, we would receive 20,000 - 30,000 pothole complaints. On the new application, however, we have been observing much less reporting. There is very little awareness among citizens pertaining to the application, resulting in under reporting. It is the onus of the civic body to popularise the facility and encourage people to flag their woes.” Mahim resident Mushtaq Ansari, who handles a page called ‘Pothole Warriors’ on X said, “The portal enables complainants to geotag the location of a pothole anywhere within the city boundaries. However, most people are unaware about it and the BMC must advertise the facility to popularise it. Most people now use other social media to highlight pothole problems but there is no accountability therein. This feature is better for logging pothole complaints as it also shows which areas are more prone to potholes, owing to geotagging and the fact that it maintains records for everyone to see." Meanwhile, on the question of received complaints, officials said that the BMC attempts to fill potholes within 24-48 hours of the complaints’ receipt. “However, in many cases, when there is heavy rainfall, filling of potholes couldn't be done regularly. This affects the pace as we have to wait until the rain stops," added the official. BMC issues notices to 13 sub-engineers over failing to fix potholes In light of the increasing number of potholes, the BMC has issued notices to 13 sub-engineers for failing to resolve the pothole problems along the swathes wherein they were entrusted with supervision. According to senior officials, the sub-engineers who have been served notices were appointed across Nahur, Bhandup and Jogeshwari–Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), which have been strewn with potholes. In each of the city's 227 municipal wards, the BMC has deployed one sub-engineer to supervise the pothole filling work that is being done by the contractors. With 227 sub-engineers inspecting the city streets collectively, the BMC has been able to address over 6,051 pothole complaints so far. However, a senior civic official said that 13 sub-engineers have been served with notices for failing to discharge their duties, after major potholes were spotted along JVLR as well as Bhandup and Nahur. Speaking to The Indian Express, the official added, “To ensure that the problem doesn't aggravate, our objective is to be able to fill a pothole as soon as possible after the complaint is received. While potholes increase with increased rain, it can be fixed earlier by proactively finding potholes by regular inspection by the appointed sub-engineer.
