Mumbai civic body burns midnight oil to fix troublesome potholes in Bandra

The stretch of Hill Road near the Elco centre. Pics/By Special Arrangement

About 10 potholes were fixed between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Bandra East and West, providing much-needed respite to the locals and commuters.

A road section near the Reclamation bus stop

What started as queries regarding two potholes, one in front of the Lilavati Hospital in the west and the other on the southbound service road in Kalanagar in the east, led to not only those two craters being fixed but many others as well. The prompt action by the civic authorities was lauded by residents, who say that many of these potholes were prevented from growing bigger and more hazardous. Mohammad Jaan, who runs a small stall in front of the Lilavati Hospital, said, "Initially, I didn't realise that they had finished the work, but this busy road is safer now. This is all we Mumbaikars want from the BMC."

The road outside the Popley Jewellers shop on Turner Road

A fruit seller, requesting anonymity, said, "I have a stall on Hill Road, and many a time I've had severe back pain because I have to push my cart on pothole-ridden stretches. Recently, a small pothole formed in front of the Trends clothing store on Hill Road, making it difficult to cross that particular spot with my cart. On Thursday, I was overjoyed to see that the crater had been fixed. I'm glad that the authorities have done their job."

The pockmarked stretch near Lilavati Hospital on KC Road

Areas in Bandra where potholes were fixed

>> Near Tasuvure and Popley Jewellers on Turner Road
>> Near Trends, Elco centre, Sukho Thai Spa, McDonald's on Hill Road
>> Reclamation Bus Depot
>> Near Lilavati Hospital on KC Road
>> Southbound service road near Kalanagar signal in Bandra East

The spot near the Tasuvure clothing store on Turner Road

Official Speak

A senior official from the roads department, requesting anonymity, said, "There are about five teams in each ward that detect and fix potholes round the clock. If we see that a pothole has become dangerous, we consider it an emergency and fix it during the daytime to prevent any untoward incident. The rest are mostly worked on at night, when traffic is low."

Five
No of teams in each ward that fixes potholes