22 August,2026 07:18 AM IST | Mumbai | Sarthak Mehta
A small idol of Ganesha placed symbolically near a pothole. Pic/iStock
Rapid action on potholes has begun ahead of Ganesha's aagman (arrival) in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) official public data showed on Friday. Within five days, a 68 per cent dip was seen as 158 pothole grievances remained across Mumbai on Friday, down from 491 on August 17. Meanwhile, figures for resolved pothole grievances in the same period jumped from 7002 to 8029 (a 15 per cent surge).
[popcorn number="Sept 14" desc="Day Ganeshotsav begins" class="Default"]
Responsibility for repair and the corresponding cost is decided by a particular road's liability. Newer roads with an ongoing Defect Liability Period (DLP) are to be repaired by the same contractor who constructed them. Roads with no DLP are repaired by the BMC through an appointed contractor.
Naresh Dahibawkar, chairman, Ganesh Mandal Sarvajanik Samanvay Samiti
âWe met the mayor on August 14 to represent concerns of all major pandals. Potholes pose a major concern during aagman and visarjan as they can damage the idol in transit. The mayor has directed civic officials to take appropriate action. Our pandal volunteers are coordinating with the respective ward officials, and we will follow up on the action in a meeting with officials and the mayor next week. Other concerns like deployment of mobile toilets, etc will also be discussed.'
Total pothole grievances
8187
Resolved
8029
Pending
158
Flagged in last 21 days
3376
Resolved in last 5 days
1027
'The summarised pothole figures are constituted from various grievance sources: My BMC Marg, WhatsApp, X, BMC web portal, 1916 helpline, and Instagram
Wards with the most pothole grievances since June (figures are of grievances resolved)â¦
M East
474
S
500
R Central
304
M West
383
L
363
A civic official
âRegular pothole repair work is ongoing to address the concerns of Ganesh pandals. Ward-level road engineers are coordinating with respective pandals. We are already encountering much less pothole work this year due to the concreting of many roads. Many pothole grievances this monsoon came from roads that are less than nine metres wide, which are yet to be concreted.'
Last week, the Brihanmumbai Public Ganeshotsav Coordination Committee stated that it had met Mayor Ritu Tawde and urged the BMC to fix potholes before large Ganesh idols are carried to their pandals in preparation for the festival. This request came as part of the annual preparations done by the committee in coordination with the Maharashtra government and local municipal corporations, to ensure roads are smooth for incoming idols. "Idols are to be brought to pandals the latest by seven days prior to the start of the 10-day festival," said committee chairman Naresh Dahibawkar.
How potholes are filled
As per experienced civic officials, repairs depend on the size. Small craters can be filled directly, while larger ones require a durable base filling with around 32 mm of mastic asphalt as the top layer. Mastic asphalt - a durable material used for most potholes - is prepared at 15-20 sites across Mumbai and requires a special high-heating cooker to keep it at a workable temperature. Due to the high temperature of the material, the pothole repair work can be carried out in dry and mild rainy weather. Once a pothole is repaired with mastic asphalt, it is good for at least two years.
Official data released
The pothole-specific official data comes from the BMC's pothole grievance portal, launched for public disclosure of potholes in the city. Civic officials say that the dynamic portal receives entries for all pothole grievances - citizen-flagged and at the civic body's self-detection. BMC has specified on the portal that the âPortal Grievances Summary' is "from June 10, 2026 onwards".
