11 September,2024 08:55 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday appointed the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay as a third party quality control agency to ensure that the quality of cement concrete roads in Mumbai, reported the PTI.
The concrete are being developed in the city.
In a statement, the BMC said it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IIT Bombay for checking the quality of cement concrete road works, according to the PTI.
The BMC has initiated cement concretisation of the 701-km-long roads in the city in two phases - 392 km long roads in the first phase and 309 km in the second.
The premier engineering institute located in Powai will conduct quality control checks of the cement concrete road works, including cube tests, core tests, slump cone tests, durability tests and field density tests.
The IIT will conduct surprise visits, site inspections and hold feedback sessions to ensure high-quality work, the release said, the news agency reported on Wednesday.
The MoU was signed in the presence of BMC Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani and Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar. It was attended by officials from the BMC and IIT, including the institute director Prof K V Krishna Rao, and head of the department of civil engineering of the institute Prof Solomon Debbarma, as per the PTI.
Earlier, last month, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had asked the authorities to fix potholes and improve the conditions of the roads in the state including Mumbai.
An official statement said that CM Shinde had instructed a rapid and comprehensive response to fix potholes and improve road conditions on major highways including Thane-Nashik and Mumbai-Ahmedabad. The work is being done using advanced materials like Rapid Quick Setting Hardener and MSCT technology.
CM Shinde highlighted the need to complete repairs quickly and to a high standard. He instructed that modern techniques be used to fill potholes promptly and directed that any obstructions in the repair work should lead to criminal charges, the statement said.
The state Chief Minister had also called for notifications to restrict heavy vehicle traffic during peak hours and for daily reviews of repair progress, it said.
(with PTI inputs)
