Meanwhile, the BMC, which had initiated action against six contractors involved in the roads scam, is now filling potholes across Mumbai with a limited strength of contractors by its side.
Potholes are back with a vengeance – all thanks to the ill-suited material that the contractors used to repair them in the last month. And it is the citizens who are paying for the apathy of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Of the 224 potholes that the BMC repaired last month, several were re-reported by locals within 24 hours as the filling put by the contractors came out. According to a senior BMC official, even after receiving directives from the High Court, contractors continue to use broken bricks, paver blocks and bitumen to fill the potholes.
"The HC had directed the BMC to use gravel-mixed tar and strong adhesives to fill potholes. Contractors, however, did not abide to this. That is why the number of potholes never goes down," he said. Underlining that there was no other way to construct a good road, the official said contractors overlooked various factors. "Factors such as weight of vehicles, drainage, underneath soil and others are rarely taken into consideration," he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the BMC, which had initiated action against six contractors involved in the roads scam, is now filling potholes across Mumbai with a limited strength of contractors by its side. In absence of contractors, Mumbaikars are likely to face more backache-inducing rides.
When queried regarding the matter, deputy municipal commissioner of the General Administration Department, Sudhir Naik, said he was unaware of the situation. "They have not been ordered to use these materials. I shall ask the department to check on this and take action against such contractors," he said.
15 junctions repaired
To ensure that potholes and uneven patches don't cause any major traffic snarls at junctions, a special squad has been formed to repair roads at junctions. The squad has already initiated work in 15 areas. Pothole and junction repair work will be done at Nana Chowk, Tardeo Road and Hindamata Junction in the South Mumbai area, followed by repair of Linking Road, SV Road (Bandra), NS Phadke Road (Juhu), Mahavir Chowk (Vile Parle), Lokhandwala Complex junction, Linking Road (Andheri) and MIDC junction in western suburban region. JVLR, Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road, LBS Marg and Gandhi Nagar junction in eastern region will also witness repairs.
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