At one spot, concrete surface has started peeling off, residents fear that it might get washed away during the monsoon season
The pockmarked internal road in Aarey Milk Colony, which was recently concreted by the public works department. Pics/Satej Shinde
It's not only cement concrete (CC) stretches built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that are developing cracks—the surface of a CC road made by the public works department (PWD) less than six months ago in Aarey Milk Colony has also begun to fissure.
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At one location, the surface has started peeling off. The PWD is repairing internal roads measuring 45 km in the colony and as part of this, some sections are being concreted, though the majority of the stretch will be made of tar.
On Monday, when mid-day visited the colony, cracks could be seen on the stretch between Royal Palms and Aarey market.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Shakha Pramukh and Aarey resident Sandeep Gadhave, who accused the PWD of doing a terrible job
Spread over 16 sq km, Aarey Milk Colony, which is home to more than 60,000 residents, comprises 27 tribal hamlets, slum pockets, cattle farm units and the Royal Palms area.
In March 2024, news reports revealed that the Bombay High Court instructed the agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy development, and fisheries department to accelerate the repair of 45 km of internal roads in Aarey Milk Colony.
Resident demands action
Alleging that proper materials were not used, Shiv Sena (UBT) Shakhapramukh and Aarey resident Sandeep Gadhave said, “The newly made CC road stretch from Aarey market towards the dairy and Royal Palms started developing cracks within less than six to eight months of construction, once again highlighting that shoddy work is being done. At one location, the CC has started coming off and we fear that it might get washed away during monsoon. The main road in Aarey, which was constructed by BMC, is also seeing the same issue.”
Gadhave wrote a letter to the officials in charge of the road work on Monday, demanding that be taken action against the contractor concerned after carrying out an independent inspection to check the quality of the roads.
“Action should not only be taken against the road contractor but also against the PWD officials in charge of the work. The authorities should also ensure that the same mistake is not repeated at other locations in Aarey Milk Colony where the PWD is constructing roads,” he added.
When contacted by this reporter, public work department officials were unavailable for comment.
45km
Length of Aarey internal road being repaired by PWD
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