Repair of potholed hotspot road in Vikhroli stuck in bureaucracy between BMC and Mhada

A dangerous road in Mumbai's Vikhroli East, which connects to a police station, school and a market, remains unrepaired due to bureaucracy between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Mhada. Advocate Ritesh Karkera, who lives in the area, contacted the BMC for repairs ahead of the monsoon season. The BMC said there was a pipeline leak that Mhada had to repair. Mhada has been unable to do so for months. The situation has worsened after heavy rain, with residents of Tagore Nagar having to pass through potholes filled with water.

Mumbai: A potholed hotspot road in Vikhroli East, which connects to the police station, school and a market has been stuck in bureaucracy between Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mhada for its long-pending repair work.

Mumbai, India - June, 24, 2023: Activist Shivkumar gaikar , Under the road in Police beat chowki hariyali village vikhroli no 3 mumbai , the pipeline has burst and the road has been damage and there are potholes on the road,in mumbai, in Mumbai, India, on,Saturday, June, 24, 2023. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

Out of concern for citizens who take the dangerous road, advocate Ritesh Karkera, an activist from the area reached out to the BMC for carrying out its repair work on May 15, way ahead from the onset of monsoons. The civic body on June 3 responded that there is a pipeline leakage below the road which the Mhada has to repair. The Mhada on the other hand has not been able to fix the repairs for months now.

With Saturday witnessing torrential rains, the situation seems to be getting worse. Residents of Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli had to pass through a pothole-ridden road, filled with water, posing a threat to citizens.

BMC responded to Karkera in a tweet and said, “There is heavy water leakage at this location from the Mhada water main. Concern Mhada officer informed to attend to the leakage immediately so that the pothole can be fixed on priority.”

Besides causing discomfort to several residents, the road has become a nightmare for the resident of the area, Shivkumar Bhimrao Begar, a person who uses a wheelchair, said that it is impossible to pass from this road in a wheelchair without getting additional help. “Whenever I want to pass from this road, I have to ask my wife to push the wheelchair. At this patch I am scared that my wheelchair will topple and I will sustain injuries, hence the support here is a must.”

BMC in its letter to Mhada last month said, “Mhada is hereby requested to attend leakage at above-mentioned location so that this office can complete the work of filling potholes. In case of any mishap happening due to potholes and deteriorated condition of road, this office should not be held responsible.”

“For the last 3 to 4 years, this has been a pothole hotspot, we keep on complaining to the BMC ward. They fill the potholes in the next few days, again potholes emerge. It is a vicious cycle. Since last 3-4 months, there is a leakage due to which efforts of BMC to fill the potholes are in waste, they tried by putting RMC twice but due to leakage it was washed off,” said Karkera adding that “We fear the road may cave in if the leakage continues as there is a heavy leakage underground.”

An official of the BMC said, “After we received the complaint, we visited the spot and found that the Mhada water pipeline has heavy leakage below. Initially Mhada officials denied that it is their pipeline, then a joint visit of the water works department and Mhada was held, where Mhada accepted that it was actually their pipeline.”

“Fixing the pothole without fixing the line has no results. The monsoons have not completely arrived. We still have a chance to fix this. If Mhada fixes the pipeline, we will get the road fixed as soon as there is a dry spell.” added the BMC official.

On the other hand, an official from Mhada requesting anonymity said, “there has been a long pending issue of BMC’s unwillingness to take over the maintenance of the sewer and water pipelines. We can install the pipelines, but there are specific orders that the upkeep of these utilities has to be the responsibility of the civic body. Since the BMC has still not taken over this, we will look into it and get the pipeline fixed.”