While the chief minister might be in complete denial about the quality of road work done by BMC and its contractors, bumpy rides on almost every major road or bridge in the city gives a clear picture of the ground reality
MiD DAY’s visit to the crucial Elphinstone Rail over-bridge, Hindmata Flyover, Dadar (West) flyover, left no scope for ambiguity - we counted, and found that there are no less than 140 potholes spread across these three crucial structures, all of which are ‘looked after’ by the BMC.u00a0
Ups and downs: MiD DAY spotted close to 100 potholes on the 500-metre rail over-bridge that connects Tulsi Pipe Road in the west to Dr Ambedkar Road in the east. Pic/Suresh KK
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Elphinstone RoB
MiD DAY spotted close to 100 potholes on the 500-metre rail over-bridge that connects Tulsi Pipe Road in the west to Dr Ambedkar Road in the east. The potholes, varying in shape, size and depth, gave motorists a hard time. Abdul Gafar (49) who has driven taxis for 25 years, said he was fed up with the problems that the potholes threw up: “This is nothing new; every year my taxi suffers extensive damage because of these potholes. But there is nothing I can do. I have to bear all the costs for repairing the damage caused by them.”
Dadar West Flyover
While many of the potholes on this crucial bridge appeared to have been hastily patched up, there were about 15 that begged for attention, making for an uncomfortable commute. The potholes brought traffic to a crawl in the entire stretch.
Hindmata Flyover
The flyover, which usually allows an easy-breezy uninterrupted ride from Parel to Dadar, is now a motorists’ nightmare, thanks to its pockmarked surface. Vehicles are now brought to a screeching halt on the stretch, with bikes having to veer frequently to dodge the pits.
MiD DAY spotted 25 potholes on the flyover, most of them concentrated on the southbound carriageway.
Questioned about the bridges, Chief Engineer S O Kori said, “Even though it was raining heavily yesterday, we managed to cover a few major potholes at the Elphinstone ROB. As the rain got worse we were not able to continue the work through the night. Tonight we will deploy workers at the Dadar West Flyover, Hindmata Flyover and Elphinstone ROB and will make sure the work is done. As soon as the city enjoys a dry spell, we will make permanent repairs to the roads.”
Experts speak
Transport expert Ashok Datar said, “The city faces the same problem -- of potholes -- every year. If the authorities know that the method they are using currently is not providing the necessary results, they should either change their methods or the materials used. If nothing else, then international companies are the only other solution to our problems.”
Voices
The Elphinstone Rail over-bridge is a small road, and to make matters worse, there a many potholes on this bridge that make it very difficult to ride on. If one is to slip anywhere on this bridge, they can be run over within seconds. Who will take the blame? The motorist or the ones in charge of maintaining the bridge?
-- Milind Gawde (28), Prabhadevi resident
I travel daily on the Elphinstone ROB and the Dadar (West) Flyover. Both are littered with potholes, making it difficult for me to ride my bike on. Even in my area in Borivli, potholes have made commutes very difficult. The route from Elphinstone to Borivli usually takes
45 minutes, but now due to traffic and potholes, it takes me close
to two hours to reach home.
-- Seth Kamal Hussain (40), Borivli resident
Traveling over the Dadar (West) Flyover is a daily routine for me. For as long as I can remember, the monsoon every year brings severe traffic jams and potholes to this stretch. It never improves. Even if the potholes are covered, mild rains cause them to open up all over again. -- Shaikh Ismail (45) Saki Naka resident
I often travel on this route and since I can remember there have been potholes on the Dadar (West) flyover. Those who are in charge of maintaining the flyover should have repaired the road before the monsoon, but clearly that was not done this year, which has lead to traffic snarls. None of these problems would arise if authorities filled in the potholes before the rains.
-- Taufiq Shaikh (24), works in Dadar
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