It’s raining potholes

BMC hard-pressed to meet September 8 deadline to fill potholes before Ganesh festival

The rains have not been kind to the civic road department. Showers this week have increased the number of bad stretches by 1,058 from last week’s tally.

According to the municipal corporation, more than 9,259 bad patches have been identified on city roads. A week ago, Additional Municipal Commissioner Srikant Singh had stated that the city had 8,203 bad stretches.

With the Ganesh festival beginning within a week, the potholed roads are giving the corporation a hard time. The corporation had initially set a September 5 deadline to fill up potholes, but later extended it by three days. A day before the new timeline expires, potholes continue to be prevalent on many roads.

However, Additional Municipal Commissioner Kishor Gajbhiye said that 98 per cent of the road work was complete. Repairs have so far cost the corporation Rs6.37 crore this monsoon. Of these, more than Rs2.1 crore was spent in the last seven days. Figures provided by the BMC indicate that areas of Andheri (962), Santacruz (927), Matunga (857) and Chandanwadi near Marine Lines (796) have the most number of potholes.