State bodies crawl to action
The civic body got its act together and started filling potholes last week, after Hindustan Times launched a campaign on the sorry state of roads in the city this monsoon.
The civic body got its act together and started filling potholes last week, after Hindustan Times launched a campaign on the sorry state of roads in the city this monsoon.
On Tuesday, as HT continued its campaign on Mumbai’s pothole-filled roads and their effect on motorists, state government agencies responsible for maintenance of several roads and flyovers too started filling potholes.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the state’s public works department (PWD), which maintain the Eastern and Western Express Highways and some major city roads, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and its toll collection contractor Mumbai Entry Point Ltd (MEPL), which look after most flyovers, have all initiated road repairs.
Like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), though, work is being done haphazardly, and experts doubt the repairs will last heavy showers.
The PWD said it has budgeted Rs85 lakh to repair potholes on the two highways during the three months of monsoon. It has begun work on the 23-km stretch from Sion to Thane. “We have attended all potholes on this stretch. Only potholes on the Amar Mahal flyover are left and those will be filled in a day or two,” said RK Jawanjal, executive engineer, PWD.
In its July 21 edition, HT had raised questions on what was happening to the toll tax the MSRDC collects to maintain flyovers when they were clearly not being maintained. On Tuesday, a defensive MEPL said repairs had begun.
“It’s difficult to asphalt during rains so we fill potholes with grit and sand during rain and asphalt when there’s a dry spell,” said Kiran Pangaonkar, chief executive officer, MEPL.
The MEPL is responsible for maintenance of 28 flyovers and five underpasses on the Eastern and Western Express Highways and the Sion-Panvel highway.
The MSRDC officials kept passing the buck when asked about repair work.
MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar said: “We rectified potholes on Dr Ambedkar Road flyovers immediately.”