The first spell of modest rains sent BMC and MMRDA scurrying for cover. DNA drove down through the city to check the ground reality.
The first spell of modest rains on Tuesday and Wednesday sent all the civic agencies, particularly the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), scurrying for cover.
DNA on Thursday drove down through the city to check the ground reality - one team travelled 86 kms along the Central and Harbour lines, the other 95 km through the city’s suburbs and the Western Express Highway -to compile a status report of the city’s ‘troubled’ spots. In areas along the Central and Harbour lines, civic officials were busy cleaning the drains and nullahs, with the road network and garbage collection all but collapsed. In the Western suburbs, unfinished work, bumpy potholes and traffic snarls were the order of the day. Today, we present you the state of roads in central suburbs.
9.40am: Sion Station, LBS Marg
Five BMC workers were cleaning a nullah which brought slush and garbage from across Sion station. “We’ve been working overnight. This is the first time we are cleaning this drain in the past few years,” said Ganesh Sonawane, municipal conservancy worker, who was neck deep in the water with four colleagues.
10.15am: Kurla-BKC Road
The very first showers that hit the city made driving on this road next-to-impossible. Several parked taxis had broken down on the road, and their owners had simply given up. While the BMC had not bothered to fill up the potholes, the rain certainly had.
Calling Kurla-BKC Road “a taxi-driver’s nightmare,” Hariprasad Jaiswal, whose taxi had stalled in the middle of the road said,”It is criminal that the corrupt BMC officials have not bothered to repair patches like this for over six months.”
11.10am: 90 Feet Road (Kajupada to Asalfa Link Road)
While one side of the road is completely dug up, numerous vehicles are parked haphazardly on the other side, leaving hardly any space for traffic. “I am paying Rs25 everyday to travel on this road,” said Pallavi Parodkar, a resident. The BMC, in its wisdom, has placed numerous dustbins in the middle of the road, which overflow with garbage.
“Where else can we throw garbage?” said Sangeeta Sethi, a local resident. Ward officer Ashok Khaire, on the other hand, blamed the mess on the lack of civic sense among people. “These people are responsible for the mess as they throw garbage everywhere and simply don’t care about the rules.”
12.30pm: Shraddhanand Road, Ghatkopar railway Station
Concretisation work outside Ghatkopar railway station has been going on for the past eight months, causing huge inconvenience to commuters. “The first monsoon showers caused water-logging in the entire area. There has been no electricity since morning, and the Reliance helplines don’t work,” said Anand Pai, owner of Anand Hotel.
Jitendra Ajmera, owner of Fotoguide, a shop on Shraddhanand Road fractured his leg on Wednesday. “Concrete slabs have been precariously placed over dug-up ditches to help people cross the road. Due to water-logging, I couldn’t see the ditch and fell into it,” said Ajmera.
2.30pm: Koliwada, Guru Tej Bahadur Nagar, Wadala
Garbage collection in these congested areas is sorely neglected. There are piles of garbage even in the middle of the road in GTB Nagar. “Taxis are the worst affected due to bad roads and the rains,” said Charan Singh, whose taxi was damaged beyond repair in the last deluge.
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