BMC to fix 455 pothole spots

Mumbai: After facing flak for the pothole infested roads and bumpy rides across the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to fix 455 chronic pothole spots in the city by March 2017.  Apart from this, the BMC has also launched a special drive to resurface six bridges in the city, including the Sion flyover, and the Hindamata flyover. Work on these bridges is set to be completed by May end.

Following pothole related complaints from citizens, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta directed all ward officials and zonal deputy municipal commissioners to prepare a list of roads that regularly face pothole problem. Subsequently, civic officials submitted a list of 455 chronic pothole spots to Mr Mehta, which will be tackled on priority basis in 2017. The BMC has issued seven contracts worth Rs 7 crore each, for each of the seven zones in the city. This money has been reserved exclusively for fixing potholes. Of the 455 spots, the civic body began work on 268 roads and junctions in November 2016.

Additional municipal commissioner, Sanjay Deshmukh said that the BMC was taking care of these chronic pothole spots on priority basis. “As soon as potholes emerge on these spots, we will repair them. These 455 spots will be monitored on priority,” he said.

Meanwhile, the six bridges undertaken for repairs are the Chinchpokli bridge, Parel TT, Sion bridge, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), Lalbaug flyover, and a bridge at Mumbai Central. The BMC’s contractors will work simultaneously on all these six bridges. The SCLR and the Lalbaug flyover have also been identified as areas of chronic potholes, and will be repaired at the cost of Rs 7 crore. These bridges were opened for traffic just a few years ago, but owing to heavy traffic, often develop developed potholes.