27,000 potholes in Mumbai – And these are just the ones citizens reported
Data of over 27,000 potholes has been documented on MumbaiPotholes.com so far (Representational Image)
An activist’s attempt to get Mumbai in the record books for the number of potholes may well be within reach, with over 27,000 potholes reported in the last 40 days.
On July 17, Navin Lade, affiliated with the Republican Party of India, launched a website (http://mumbaipotholes.com) for documenting evidence about potholes in Mumbai.
As a part of the campaign, titled ‘pothole-free Mumbai’, Lade urged citizens to snap pictures of potholes and send it to him over via WhatsApp or email.
The motive behind the campaign was to get Mumbai officially listed in the record books, for its pothole problem, in a bid to shame authorities like BMC, PWD, and others responsible for maintaining city roads.
With 27,360 potholes reported in the 40 day period till August 27, Lade has now urged authorities to verify and get started on fixing them.
The activist has reportedly spent Rs 4 lakh of his own money on hiring a team of youngsters to document data, verify submissions and spread awareness about their cause.
Lade has already sent data on potholes to get Mumbai into the Guinness World Records, Limca Book Of Records, India Book Of Records, Golden Book Of Records and World Book Of Records.
While Guinness World Records have rejected his submission citing lack of standardized data and to stay clear of any political agenda, the Andheri-resident is hopeful of getting into Limca Book Of Records and India Book Of Records.
Incidentally, the BMC recently said it had repaired almost 90 percent of all potholes (2,006 out of 2,294) reported by citizens since the beginning of monsoon this year. The claim, however, did not go down well with citizens who laughed off at the data.
