Two months on, Mohd Ali Road work unfinished

It is only a matter of 12 odd days for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) road department to meet its deadline. However, it looks like the BMC may need to carry out road repairs way beyond the set deadline so as to make quite a few roads in the city motorable. One such is South Mumbai's Mohammed Ali Road, also known as Old Palton road.

The stretch, which houses Manish market, is being repaired by the BMC for the past two months. The continuous work has resulted in extreme traffic congestion even during off-peak hours. It remains a big worry for commuters as they fear it will lead to longer traffic snarls during the monsoon.

To add to the chaos, traffic from Carnac road and Lokmanaya Tilak road meets at Mohammed Ali Road. Repair machinery occupies most of the road which also makes it difficult for pedestrians.

"This road generally witnesses traffic, but the repair work has added to our woes as it makes driving difficult. Since it has a market, there are hundreds of visitors on a daily basis and high traffic flow. Hawkers also add to the menace. It will be a challenge to drive during the rains," said Vinod Kumar, a taxi driver.

BMC's Deputy Chief Engineer (Roads) Pradeep Watave said, "The road work has been delayed due to quarries being shut. It will be completed in the next eight days."

The stretch has traffic flowing from Musafir Khana, Crawford Market, Manish Market and Dhobi Talao. Traffic and city police are present throughout the day to manage traffic. "We are here basically for bandobast. But due to heavy traffic, we have to manage the flow of vehicles too," said a police officer from Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg police station.

...& ANALYSIS

• Hundreds of roads have been dug up in the city and BMC has barely 11 days to complete the road repair works. Reports say monsoon is expected early this year.
   
• Looking at the amount of work left and the short span of time, the important question is that will the BMC be able to deliver quality work?