Fix all potholes in Mumbai within 15 days: CM tells civic agencies
CM Devendra Fadnavis
In the wake of the increasing number of pothole-related complaints, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed all government authorities responsible for the maintenance of Mumbai’s roads to repair each and every pothole in the city in the next 15 days.
The agencies that are responsible for maintaining roads in Mumbai, apart from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and Public Works Department (PWD).
Earlier, BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar had written to Fadnavis, seeking his intervention in resolving the pothole problem in the city. Following which, the CM instructed chief secretary Swadhin Kshatriya to ask the concerned agencies to get their act together.
Some of the most pothole-riddled roads are in Byculla, Dadar, Kandivali, Parel, Sion, Andheri, Vakola, Sion, Chunabhatti, Chandivali, Suman Nagar, Kurla among others.
Contrary to popular belief, the BMC is not responsible for maintaining the city’s entire road network. Major highways like the Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway are maintained by other agencies like PWD, MMRDA and MSRDC.
On Tuesday, the BMC had claimed that of the 4,568 potholes reported in the city, only 43 were not repaired. However, a simple consolidation of the media reports and citizen complaints would put the number beyond 500 at the very least.
But getting the number of potholes right isn’t the BMC’s only problem. The civic body is also struggling to decide on which material and technique to use to fill the potholes.
Meanwhile, with the BMC elections on the horizon, all parties, including ally BJP, have started questioning Shiv Sena over the alleged corruption in the civic body.
