Despite accidents and deaths, roads continue to be in bad shape in Thane district
Even after five commuters lost their lives in Thane district because of the bad condition of the roads, there has been no improvement; the roads that were repaired temporarily by the authorities have again turned into bad ones following the meagre rainfall over the last few days
Even after five commuters lost their lives in Thane district because of the bad condition of the roads, there has been no improvement.
The roads that were repaired temporarily by the authorities have again turned into deadly ones following the meagre rainfall over the last few days.
Since the onset of the monsoon this year, the district has witnessed five deaths due to potholes or bad roads. These include one on the Kajupada stretch of Ghodbunder and two along the Mumbai-Nashik Highway.
“There is no respite from the bad roads and we have to deal with them daily. The worst part is that there is no barricading done also for such spots that are deadly so that the motorists don’t lose their balance,” said Ravi Gaikwad, 38, a motorist who takes the Thane-Bhiwandi stretch daily for work on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway.
In some parts of the stretches along the Mumbai-Nashik Highway, the pebbles that were used to fill the potholes have been washed away and are scattered across the roads, leading to skidding of motorcycles.
“The bridge after Kharegaon toll that connects to Thane city has pebbles all over it. This is very dangerous and many two-wheelers have lost balance. It also leads to traffic jams on the bridge,” said Yogesh Mhase, 30, another motorist.
The Rajnouli chowk on the Thane-Bhiwandi stretch of the same highway is a concrete road but has uneven edges and small potholes that usually lead to skidding during rainy days.
“The repair works on the entire Mumbai-Nashik Highway is under way. The contractors are filling up the patches and doing all the necessary work. Once the rain stops, proper asphalting can be carried out,” said an officer of MSRDC.
The story is the same along the other stretches. The Ghodbunder Road that saw a biker being killed is still having several potholes on the edges of the stretch. The road that has many blind turns is an accident-prone stretch while there are no specific measures taken to ensure the edges of the stretch are pothole-free.
The MSRDC has taken up the work of filling the potholes with big stones since the last two days. However, there are patches where the filling is yet to be done.
The Mharal-Kamba Road on the busy Kalyan-Bhiwandi stretch, another death trap, was temporarily repaired by the National Highways Authority of India-appointed contractors using stones and mud. When it rained, the road turned muddy, making it difficult for the commuters.
Traffic jams are reported on this stretch on most days. Gopal Katke, deputy engineer of NHAI, said, “The overflowing drains were cleaned so that it does not lead to waterlogging on the road. Also, the potholes were filled temporarily on a regular basis whenever the rain stops. The contractor has been asked to keep doing this till the end of the rainy season and the actual concretisation of the road will be undertaken.”
The other stretch – Katai-Badlapur road – where a 26-year-old man died after his bike hit a pothole is among the few roads repaired by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
“The major cause of these accidents is not just the potholes but also the uneven portions and incomplete edges of the roads. If a road is cement-concretised, its edges are left as they are and they are uneven. On asphalt roads, some patches are uneven. This is all due to the shoddy job done by the contractors,” said Mahima Pawar, 37, who takes the Katai-Badlapur Road.
