BMC upset with traffic cops’ ‘stunt’ of filling potholes

While Mumbaikars are already livid over the rising number of potholes on city roads, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is miffed with the traffic police for “defaming” the civic body by “filling potholes” on their own.

The traffic police were seen on Wednesday repairing the pockmarks on the flyover, near Sion Hospital. According to them, they had taken the initiative to give relief to commuters, who are inconvenienced due to potholes on city roads.

However, the BMC has refuted the intention, saying that the traffic police’s act was an absolute ‘publicity stunt.’ According to the civic officials, the F/North ward officials had undertaken the pothole filling exercise on June 29 at the flyover near Sion Hospital when the traffic inspector Sunil Kadam visited the spot with four other traffic policemen and photographers. He took out the shovel from civic employees and started filling potholes himself.

“Mr Kadam’s act was premeditated and was made to seek cheap publicity. Without informing senior ward officials, he did this only to defame the BMC. His act has maligned BMC’s image in public,” said a senior civic official.

BMC additional commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh, in a letter written to a deputy traffic police commissioner (zone – II), has demanded that strict action be taken against Mr Kadam and he should be reprimanded not to indulge in such acts henceforth.

Despite repeated attempts, Namdeo Chavan, deputy traffic police commissioner (zone-II) was not available for comments.