After the flooding, too many potholes to fill : Hindustan Times

A MESS 110 potholes were reported since Friday’s downpour and paver blocks dislodged at many places, but civic authorities yet to attend to them

ON AN AVERAGE, AT LEAST 50 POTHOLES ARE BEING REPORTED EVERY DAY, MOST OF THEM BY CITIZENS. REPAIR WORK AT SOME LOCATIONS IS UNDERWAY BUT MOST OF THEM ARE YET TO BE ATTENDED TO. SHANTANU KULKARNI, who designed and maintains the tracking system for potholes

MUMBAI: After t wo days of heavy rain and waterlogging, it is now time for pothole woes in the city.

(Top) While some enjoy a leisurely walk at Carter Road, others don their rain gear and go for a run.

Friday’s heavy and incessant rain seems to have pounded potholes into the city’s roads and has also dislodged paver blocks on footpaths and traffic junctions in many areas.

Colaba and Nariman Point reported the maximum number of potholes in the city so far, followed by Andheri in the western suburbs.

The pothole tracking system www.voiceofcitizen.com shows that more than 110 potholes were reported on the site after Friday’s downpour, once again highlighting the shoddy road repair work by the civic body that had claimed a smoother monsoon for citizens.

Moreover, data available on the tracking system has revealed that 456 trenches that have been dug in the past few months to lay cables and utility lines are still open.

Despite all the mess on the city’s roads, the civic body seems to be in no hurry to get to the task.

In the last three days, only 13 potholes have been repaired. With repair work moving at snail’s pace, only about 195 of the total 527 potholes reported since the beginning of the monsoon this year have been repaired.

Civic officials, requesting anonymity, said contractors in a few wards have not yet been given orders to carry out repair work.

“On an average, at least 50 potholes are being reported every day, most of them by citizens. Repair work at some locations is underway but most of them are yet to be attended to,” said Shantanu Kulkarni who has designed and maintains the tracking system.

Civic officials, however, claim to have done their best to ensure a smooth ride f or motorists. Additional municipal commissioner SVR Srinivas who heads the roads department was unavailable for 

“Work on the repaired potholes is so shoddy that it is as good as leaving them unattended. The road engineers who are responsible for supervising the quality of work have failed to keep a check,” said Nikhil Desai, citizen activist from Matunga.