Official pothole count crosses 6,000

The maximum potholes — 345 — have been registered in the R-Central ward, which covers the areas of Kandivali and Poisar.

Nearly 1,500 reported potholes are yet to be filled. (Source:Express archive)

Data from the civic body’s pothole-tracking website shows that nearly 1,500 reported potholes are yet to be filled. Barely 70 of these complaints have been reported for roads under the care of other state agencies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), the Maharashtra State Roads Development Corporation (MSRDC) and the Public Works Department (PWD). As per the data, none of these complaints have been attended to since the start of the monsoon season.

The civic body’s pothole-trackingwebsite, http://www.voiceofcitizen.com, has received around 10,272 hits in the past two months, in which citizens have registered 6,027 pothole complaints. Activists and politicians, however, have slammed the web portal for failing to give an accurate account of the city’s pothole menace.

Earlier this year, BMC decentralised the pothole-repair system to the local ward offices from its central roads department, thereby diluting the accountability for potholed roads to local ward authorities and zonal road engineers.

According to the website, maximum complaints — 5,551 — have been registered for roads under the care of the 24 administrative wards of the city. Of these, 1,200 potholes remain to be attended to.

The maximum potholes — 345 — have been registered in the R-Central ward, which covers the areas of Kandivali and Poisar. This is followed by a large number of complaints from the N-ward area of Ghatkopar. Meanwhile, arterial roads, which fall under BMC central roads department, have recorded 347 potholes since the start of the monsoon.

Last week, the umbrella body of Ganesh mandals, Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Coordination Committee (BSGCC), handed over to the BMC a list of 80 ‘bad’ roads, which are used as routes for transporting the Ganesha idol. This list identifies over 3,000 potholes, which are yet to be repaired.

In response to concerns, BMC has set a deadline of August 23 for itself to complete all repairs on major and minor roads. “We are starting an intensive drive to complete repairs before the deadline,” a senior official said.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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BMC
MMRDA
potholes
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