Mumbai: Return of rain brings with it more potholes

A bad stretch at Bail Bazar Road in Kurla; (right) water dripping along a stretch of Lalbaug flyover. Pics/Ashish Nare, Ganesh Samiti Volunteer

Although the BMC filled over 2,000 potholes over the last two weeks, the recent heavy showers added to the number. The BMC is running behind schedule to fill up the craters, and despite the guardian minister's assurance, the civic body hasn't managed to meet the August 18 deadline. With the last weekend of the month arriving, Ganesh festival committees are still complaining about pockmarked roads. The Ganesh festival will start on September 7 and big mandals bring their idols three weeks prior. In a meeting with BMC officials on August 6, Suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha instructed the corporation to fill up potholes by August 18, when the big idols start moving to pandals to fit into ambient decorations.

Even in a meeting of representatives of Ganesh mandals with the chief minister on August 14, civic officials assured to start large-scale action to fill up potholes.
The pothole count by the BMC stood at 13,413 till August 6 (140 unfilled) but increased to 16,145 by August 13, with 148 not filled up till then. More than 2,350 potholes were added to the list in the last two weeks despite hardly two days of heavy showers. As per official figures, as of August 27, 18,499 potholes were reported, of which 88 are yet to be filled up.

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Event organisers say bad roads cause delays in moving idols, which result in traffic jams. Pic/Ashish Nare, Ganesh Samiti Volunteer

Naresh Dahibaonkar of the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, said, "Despite two meetings with the authorities and assurances from them, we have been tackling potholes and bad patches. The general public blames Ganesh processions for slowing down the traffic but we humbly explain that it is not because of our processions but due to bad patches and tree branches as well as overhead wires. Volunteers need to take utmost care while taking idols." He added the horizontal signals and drain water from flyovers also makes it difficult.

The Akhil Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mahasangh also raised the issue of potholes and uneven patches in the meetings. Suresh Sarnobat, secretary of Akhil Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mahasangh, said, "Despite reminders every year, our corporation isn't successful in tackling the pothole menace. Potholes are a major concern this year too. There should be a standard operating procedure in place for this."

Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner, said, "A massive drive is currently underway and ward-level engineers have been instructed to fill up bad patches on roads. In addition to that, we have been also coordinating with Ganesh mandals and working immediately on their feedback. The heavy showers over the weekend added more potholes but we will be on our toes for the next 10 days to clear the path for Ganesh idols."