‘Need 10-day dry spell to fix roads’

Mumbaiites might have to keep living in the hope of getting better roads for a little longer, as the civic body has expressed helplessness in bringing about significant change in the situation anytime soon.

Mumbaiites might have to keep living in the hope of getting better roads for a little longer, as the civic body has expressed helplessness in bringing about significant change in the situation anytime soon.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday admitted that the potholes in the city would not be filled, unless there is a dry spell lasting at least 10 days. This means that if the rain follows the trend of the last few days, you will not only have to bear with existing potholes, but also those that each downpour will bring.

This confession comes after the civic body has spent almost 90% of the total estimated cost for road repairs, both before and during the monsoon. Of the Rs40 crore estimate, the BMC has spent more than Rs32 crore.

Admitting this, additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta said: “We have been trying temporary methods to fill potholes, the repair work doesn’t last. If we have to rid our city of potholes, during the monsoon, we need at least ten days without rain so that they can be filled in an effective way.”

Gupta also admitted that the civic body did not have requisite technology for fixing potholes in the monsoon. “We have tried various technologies, but have failed. Even the jet patcher machines we had purchased are not proving to be efficient enough,” he said.

Corporators in the Standing Committee have reacted strongly to Gupta’s confession, especially the Congress corporators, who staged a walkout in protest. Opposition leader Rajhans Singh remarked: “How cant he civic administration say that it is helpless about the city’s roads and potholes, when so many citizens are suffering every single day?”