Bhiwandi turning from power loom capital into pothole haven due to bad roads

Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation has claimed that it does not have sufficient revenue generation for to repair pothole-ridden roads

Lakhs of people travel in and out of the loom town on any given day of the week, thanks to its many power looms and warehouses. Comparatively, a meagre ₹30Cr is spent on repairing the roads in this city over the last five years.

A pothole on one of the roads at Kalyan Naka in Bhiwandi . (Praful Gangurde/HT PHOTO)

The Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) has claimed that it does not have sufficient revenue generation for road repairs. For over a month, residents, political parties and activists have been raising the issue of pothole-filled roads all across Bhiwandi.

The poor road conditions and the huge craters resembling little ponds or pools have become the brunt of trolls on various social media platforms. While the BNCMC is awaiting a dry spell to fill the potholes and level the roads, residents claim they face this situation year after year.

Bhiwandi city has many warehouses of popular e-commerce retailers and is also the power loom capital of India. At night, many heavy vehicles with goods regularly travel on the roads that connect Bhiwandi to Kalyan, Thane and Wada areas.

BNCMC has an overall budget of ₹10Cr for roads this financial year. From among this, they have spent around ₹7Cr only on flyovers across the city till now. Laxman Gaikwad, city engineer, BNCMC, said, “During heavy downpour, the force of the rain water causes deep penetration on the roads, leading to such potholes. The continuous rainfall in the last couple of weeks has led to potholes in different parts of the city. We have appointed engineers in each ward to conduct regular surveys of all roads and fill the potholes. We also have made vehicles available to flatten the stretch of road after filling the potholes to avoid uneven patches. We are awaiting a dry spell to repair the roads.

Two days ago, a few youth protested on the Bhiwandi-Wada road by rowing an inflatable boat on craters filled with rainwater. They held a placard that said ‘Enjoy boat rides amidst Ganesh festival on Bhiwandi-Wada road’.

Taj Khan, 43, resident of Kalyan Road, said, “The internal roads are the most affected with potholes. The road connecting Thane to Mankoli Naka is a 14km stretch that takes around three hours to travel during peak hours. This traffic jam is due to the umpteen potholes on these roads. There is a stretch of road from Gaibi Nagar to Shanti Nagar that has been in the same condition for more than a decade now. It has not been repaired properly.”

Most roads within the city are in a poor state including Mangal Bazar Road, Agra Road near Kamla Hotel, Rajiv Gandhi Flyover, Bhiwandi-Wada Road, Anjurphata till Kasheli, Thane to Mankoli naka and the stretch near Kalyan Naka.

“Bhiwandi is well connected by road to Thane, Kalyan and Wada. Often, people traverse through the Bhiwandi-Wada route to reach Gujarat. As there is no connectivity by train, these stretches of roads are very important as they are the only means to connect Bhiwandi with rural areas and the neighbouring cities. Despite this, it takes hours to commute on this road due to the ill-maintained condition of the road,” said Saumya Srivastava, 38, resident of Padma Nagar in Bhiwandi who drives till Majiwada, Thane, twice a week.