Potholes fixed or not, BMC to ask complainants

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Complained about a pothole on Fixit app? Now check whether it's been fixed or not and confirm it to the BMC, which will be calling you soon. With the pothole challenge ending today, the BMC's next plan of action is to call up all the complainants to verify if their grievances have been addressed.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will rope in four officials to make the phone calls to the citizens who reported the potholes on MyBMC Pothole Fixit app between November 1 and November 7.

"We will call the complainants and check if their complaint was attended or not. I will be roping in my traffic department's four engineers for the job. But, since this challenge was launched, the officials are working harder and work is also fast tracked. We are attending to the pending complaints too," said BMC Chief Engineer Sanjay Darade at the Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Between November 1 and Novermber 6, the BMC has received a total of 1,670 pothole complaints, said the roads department chief engineer at the Standing Committee meeting. Of these, the BMC has fixed 1,148 potholes.

The civic body may have found a way for verification, but no one is ready to give any details about the payment of rewards. The BMC has promised a cash prize of R500 to the citizens whose complaints have not been resolved within 24 hours of reporting the pothole.

Speaking about the complaints that have not been addressed yet, Darade said, "Most of the pending potholes come under different departments and other agencies. These will be filled after we coordinate with the respective departments."

However, when on the question of the reward, the civic officials reiterated at the meeting that the responsible officer will pay the cash prize. But, the BMC has not decided when and how the payment will be made.

Unsatisfied with the answer, corporators slammed the BMC for "fooling the citizens". They also questioned the quality of materials used to fill the potholes. Congress corporator and opposition leader Ravi Raja said, "The BMC administration is only fooling the citizens and not giving any clarity on when will the deserving complainants get paid."

1,670
No. of pothole complaints BMC got in six days

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