Congress MLA Nitesh Rane at his exhibition of potholes. (Photo: Rajesh Jadhav)

Corridors of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been buzzing with the ‘politics over potholes.’ On Tuesday, while the ruling Shiv

Sena-BJP were seen playing the game of one-upmanship over potholes issue, a senior Congress corporator has allegedly been injured after tripping over a pothole. In connection with this, Congress MLA Nitesh Rane also organised a photo exhibition of about 400 potholes on the city roads.

BJP MP Kirit Somaiya visited mayor Snehal Ambekar in the BMC headquarters and presented her with an album of 100 potholes across the city roads. Irked by this, senior Shiv Sena corporator and civic house leader Trishna Vishwasrao also offered him pictures of potholes on roads belonging to MMRDA, which is ruled by the state government.

Mr Somaiya, who has been recently attacking the Sena leadership over various issues, said that leakages on roads are the main reason behind potholes in the city and they would be filled within 10 days. “An action plan for pothole-filling has been prepared. But we will not spare the contractors involved in the corruption over filling of potholes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the city mayor said that BMC has been carrying out the pothole filling works earnestly. “We have been visiting the city roads and checking the quality of repair works regularly,” said Ms Ambekar. She also instructed the civic officials to display which authority the roads belong to and whose responsibility it is to repair them.

MLA Rane on potholes “The time has come to bury the ruling Sena-BJP alliance into the potholes,” said Mr Rane, who organised a photo exhibition of potholes on city roads in South Mumbai. “While the BMC has claimed to have found only 66 potholes on city roads, our activists found over 1,000 potholes in only a few hours. It shows the Sena-BJP alliance and civic administration are fooling people in the city,” he said.

City Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who inaugurated the exhibition, demanded that along with contractors and civic officials, an FIR should be filed against ruling members of civic standing committee, who passed the proposals for road works. “The Congress will organise a khadde dindi (pothole rally) on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi on July 15 from Fashion Street to BMC headquarters,” he said.

Congress corporator hurt Senior Congress corporator Waqarunnisa Ansari has said that she was injured after tripping over a pothole while inspecting roads in her ward. She said, “I had received several complaints of bad roads in Pydhonie. While visiting the Ibrahim Rehmatulla Road, I tripped on pothole, fell and injured my right leg.” She later held a rasta roko to protest the potholes on roads.