The civic body has been repairing the bridge over 60-feet Road in Dharavi since 2011; meanwhile, the Slum Rehabiliation Authority chief’s promise of fixing the pothole-ridden road in Daulat Nagar made in July remains unfulfilled
It would not be inappropriate to say that apathy exhibited by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and various government organisations is one of the several reasons for the pathetic condition of the city’s roads. And the following two cases prove the point.
Dharavi
It has been over two years since the landing of the bridge passing over a nullah on 60-feet road in Dharavi caved in, but the civic body is yet to conclude the repair work. The cave-in occurred in August 2011.
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Soon after, the northbound road from Mahim towards Dharavi via Fisherman’s Colony was shut for vehicular movement, so that the BMC could execute the repair work. With BMC taking years to complete the minor project, the stretch has been encroached upon and converted into a parking lot for heavy vehicles.
Speaking to mid-day, BMC Chief Engineer (Bridges) S A Kori said, “Repair work from the Dharavi end has already commenced. We have completed the piling of 19-21 foundations in the nullah portion. For this, we first made a copper bund, and that consumed a lot of time. We had to stop work due to rains. It will resume after Diwali, and will take a year to complete.”
Santacruz
A private road in Daulat Nagar, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), was marred with over 180 potholes before the monsoon. But the concerned authorities have repaired only one half of the craters till date.
Though the SRA chief, Nirmalkumar Deshmukh, had assured in July that the road would be fully repaired post-monsoon, work seems to be moving at a snail’s pace.
A recent visit to the site by this correspondent revealed that the pothole-ridden stretch between Milan subway signal (on S V Road) and Sane Guruji Vidya Mandir was inconveniencing motorists greatly, especially during morning and evening peak hours.
A resident from one of the buildings near the school said, “The authorities only swung into action and repaired the stretch after mid-day reported about it in July.
We thought they would repair the remaining stretch post-monsoon, but nothing has happened till date. The unrepaired stretch still has around 80 potholes.” Despite repeated attempts, the SRA chief remained unavailable for comment.