In Mumbai: Zig Zag road caved-in 2 months ago at Pali Hill awaits repair

The BMC has sent two notices to the residents since July 22 stating that the wall needs to be reconstructed within 48 hours of the mishap “at the risk and cost of the society”

Two months have passed since Pali Hill’s Zig Zag road caved in and a part of the retaining wall fell apart while taking four trees down with it, but the road repair work has not been completed yet. Pali Hill residents, who say the work started only 10 days ago, are not happy with the pace of the civic work as the road has been blocked for traffic since July 22, the day of the cave-in.

Zig Zag road at Pali Hill had caved-in on July. (HT Photo)

Madhu Poplai of Pali Hill Residents’ Association said, “The work is still going on slowly. It’s one of the entrances to Pali Hill and it has been cordoned off since 2 months.”

While corporator Swapna Mhatre said senior civic officials met residents on September 16 and promised better and faster road work, reconstruction of the retaining wall seems to have become an issue between residents and the civic body.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Kenwood Apartment, which is situated right next to the retaining wall, is responsible for its maintenance. Secretary of the society, Suresh Ahuja, said, “The BMC dug up the road next to the wall many times for various utility cables. This along with the invasive tree roots had weakened the wall over the years.”

The BMC has sent two notices to the residents since July 22 stating that the wall needs to be reconstructed within 48 hours of the mishap “at the risk and cost of the society”. According to Ahuja, the wall, which was at least 10 feet high, was built about 40 years ago by the society’s builder. “We have been sending letters to the BMC since 2011 asking them to take care of the wall as we do not have any funds. They have trimmed the trees on the road but the roots are damaging the wall from within,” added Ahuja.

The civic officials passed the buck saying that they will have to take action against Kenwood Apartment residents if they fail to reconstruct the wall. As for the Zig Zag road, chief engineer (roads) Vinod Chithore said there were procedural delays and the road work should finish in a month’s time.