Citizens not impressed by TMC’s pothole survey numbers

Citizens of Diva are not easily impressed by TMC’s claim. They said the suburb continues to be full of death traps for commuters

Thane: Four days after 22-year-old Ganesh Fale was killed when he fell off his two-wheeler negotiating a pothole and hit his head against the rear wheels of a tanker, on Diva Agasan Road, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) hastily covered up the spot and put out data stating only a few potholes remain to be repaired.

Thane, India - September 01, 2022: Even after the death of a 22-year-old biker Ganesh Fale on the Diva-Agasan Road stretch, citizens of the area accuse TMC of repairing only the portion of the road where the incident took place, while the whole stretch is still dangerous and unsafe for commuting at Milind Nagar, Diva. A survey done by the TMC reveals that out of the total 1649 potholes the civic body has repaired 1517 of them till now, in Thane, Mumbai, India, on Thursday, September 01, 2022. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

This was the seventh pothole-related death in Thane in this monsoon season.

The civic body’s survey has revealed that the city has 1649 potholes of which only 132 remain to be repaired. The repairs were done till August 29.

Citizens of Diva are not easily impressed by TMC’s claim. They said the suburb continues to be full of death traps for commuters.

Tushar Patil, a local resident and a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) functionary said, “The corporation immediately repaired the patch where the death took place. However, they left the other patches on the same stretch and other roads in Diva unattended.”

Residents claimed roads in Milind Nagar, Phadke Pada Station Road, Mhasoba Nagar and Bedekar Nagar have equally deadly potholes.

The pothole survey states of the nine wards in TMC limits, the roads in Diva ward are the most damaged, having 489 potholes, followed by Vartak Nagar with 380 potholes and Kalwa with 250 potholes.

In Diva, TMC claims to have filled 454 potholes while 25 remain. Residents challenged the numbers saying more than 25 potholes are yet to be filled.

The civic body has used wet bound macadem, cold mix, paver blocks, asphalting or concretisation, depending on the climatic conditions, to solve the problem. TMC spends around ₹2.5 crore on pre-monsoon road repairs though it has not much to show for it on ground.

“We have filled the potholes on Diva-Agasan stretch. Road repair is underway in Diva constantly. We do it when there is a dry spell. If people claim there are more potholes, we will fill those immediately,” said Faruq Shaikh, assistant commissioner, TMC.

Prathamesh Chavan, 20, employed in a bakery in Diva

The condition of roads in Diva has been worsening for the last five years. The civic body carried out repairs at the recent accident spot but there are others in bad state too. When will they all be repaired for a smooth and safe commute?

Abhijit Hirase, 33, businessman in Diva

Just about five per cent of the potholed roads have been repaired. They have just filled the potholes with some material which washes away easily. Other roads are still in a similar state.

Total potholes: 1,649

Area of potholes: 3384 sq.mts.

Potholes filled: 1,517

Area of potholes filled: 3,216 sq.mts

Potholes yet to be filled: 132

Area of potholes to be filled: 168 sq.mts