Potholes surface at 316 places across Mumbai

Mumbai: Barely a month since the onset of the monsoon and there are already craters galore on city roads. In about a fortnight, potholes have surfaced at as many as 316 places in the city. However, the BMC has been able to attend to only 60 per cent of pothole complaints, so far.

According to civic data, from June 10 to 27, the civic body received 316 complaints about potholes. Of the 316, 191 complaints i.e. 60 per cent have been attended to by the civic roads department whereas 124 complaints (40 per cent) are still pending.

The maximum complaints (47) have been received from K-east ward (eastern areas of Andheri, Jogeshwari); followed by Bhandup (S ward) with 24; Malad (P-north) with 23; and Mulund (T ward) with 20.

A majority of these potholes have surfaced after the heavy downpour last week. Some of the major roads, where people are facing inconvenience due to craters, include P. D’Mello Road, LBS Marg, Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Bellasis Road and Eastern Expressway among others.

Civic activist Nikhil Desai said, “The rains are not that heavy so far but the condition of roads has become worse. At King’s Circle junction, which is one of the major junctions in the city, there are potholes. The BMC should repair them immediately to avoid accidents.”

A senior civic official said, “As soon as we have a dry spell, we will repair the potholes with cold-mix material.”

This year, the BMC has decided to repair potholes with a cold-mix material, which will be manufactured at its own plant in Worli in collaboration with a German firm.