Wrong numbers delayed Mira-Bhayander civic body’s response to 10-hour jam on Ghodbunder Road

Mumbai city news: The MBMC acknowledged the error and issued a corrigendum with the new numbers: 022-281117102 and 022-28117104.

Monday’s 10-hour traffic snarl after an LPG tanker overturned on Ghodbunder Road in Thane could have been cleared more quickly had the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) published the correct helpline numbers of its disaster management department in local newspapers on the same day.

An LPG tanker overturned on Ghodbunder Road on Monday. (Hindustan Times)

The goof-up delayed rescue work as officials from the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) could not contact their counterparts in the MBMC. One of the numbers belonged to a dog squad in Thane.

The MBMC acknowledged the error and issued a corrigendum with the new numbers: 022-281117102 and 022-28117104.

“When we got the news about the incident, we tried to get in touch with the MBMC as the area is under their jurisdiction. They had published a notice of helpline numbers on the same day. However one of the two numbers was answered by a dog squad in Thane while the other number was wrong. This delayed our response,” said a TMC officer.

Manasvi Mhatre, officer in charge of the disaster management of MBMC, said, “The notice was issued by the PWD department, which published the numbers last year too. We did not have an MTNL connection at the time, thus the numbers were different.

“This year, we got new landline connections and had sent them (for the ad). However, the person typing the notice simply copied the old numbers.”