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Open manholes on Undri-NIBM Link Road pose risk to commuters’ lives
On Tuesday, the PMC stopped vehicular movement from Dorabjee Mall to Clover Mall via Bhairavnath Devasthan Trust to prevent spillover of traffic from the Orchid Palace to NIBM Chowk route
Barely 48 hours since the closure of the Mohammadwadi-NIBM Link Road for slope reduction work and existing manhole covers on the main alternate road from Marvel Sangria to Orchid Palace are caving in due to the sudden onslaught of vehicles from the road that has been closed. What’s more, there are no signages around these near-open manholes, as found by the Hindustan Times team during a spot visit. The team also found a few manhole covers on the verge of collapse owing to the sheer number of vehicles plying on the road.
Nyati County Citizens’ Forum member Sunil Koloti said, “A few months ago, we had sought data from the PMC under the Right to Information (RTI) Act about funds collected as property tax from our area. We found that the PMC had collected Rs223 crores from the area residents since 2015 but had not given any details about the expenditure on road and water infrastructure. So, where this money has gone is a million-dollar question. The open manholes are a threat to our lives besides being a comment on the quality of material used for the construction of roads and manhole covers that are breaking down so easily.”
Koloti further lambasted the PMC for ignoring the Mohammadwadi area in terms of road infrastructure. “We need substantial investment of citizen funds in road infrastructure which has unfortunately not happened over the years. The existing state of affairs shows the apathy of the PMC and is a danger to citizens.”
On Tuesday, the PMC stopped vehicular movement from Dorabjee Mall to Clover Mall via Bhairavnath Devasthan Trust to prevent spillover of traffic from the Orchid Palace to NIBM Chowk route. The corporation claimed that it had resurfaced the alternate road from Dorabjee Mall to Marvel Sangria. However, a drive along that stretch revealed that the PMC has put a thin coat of tar on the broken and potholed portion of the road while leaving a major portion as it is due to which citizens travelling towards NIBM, Kondhwa, Undri and Mohammadwadi are suffering considerably.
When contacted, sub-engineer, road development, PMC, Avinash Kamthe, said, “We are taking all possible steps to make the commute safe. We got the road resurfaced for the convenience of the citizens. If there are any open manholes, we will repair them within two days. We plan to complete the slope reduction work by the end of April.”
Whereas former area corporator Nanda Lonkar said, “We have asked the PMC authorities to repair the alternate road overnight. At the same time, the bad patches along Orchid Palace to NIBM Chowk will be repaired in the next few days.”
