After maintaining a sparkling façade for visitors to the 17th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup final at DY Patil stadium, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation appears to be crumbling under the strain of keeping up appearances
After maintaining a sparkling façade for visitors to the 17th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup final at DY Patil stadium, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation appears to be crumbling under the strain of keeping up appearances. After the games ended last week, the city's Rs 20-crore facelift sham is coming undone.
Motorists are forced to negotiate their way in complete darkness on theSion-Panvel Highway stretch. Pic/ Satej Shinde
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Two months before the scheduled games were to be held at the stadium, the NMMC had splashed out Rs 20 crore on a makeover for the city. From pothole-free roads, special parking areas, spruced up gardens, gleaming walls and new streetlights, Navi Mumbai had undergone a transformation, unlike anything seen before. But, it's just been three days since the finals between England and Spain -- held at the stadium on Saturday -- and the city has already gone back to square one.
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Streetlights on the Sion Panvel Highway stretch, which blazed all through the games -- from October 6 to 28 -- have suddenly stopped working, putting the lives of several motorists at risk.
During a visit to the spot last night, mid-day found that streetlights on the stretch between Vashi Toll Naka and Vashi Flyover, and Nerul Flyover to Belapur, were dysfunctional. Several vehicles were found negotiating their way in complete darkness. Streetlights on this stretch had been specially repaired for the games, and were functional until Saturday.
Shabaz Ali Sayed, 31, a marketing professional and resident of Navi Mumbai, said, "We need to thank FIFA for bringing about dramatic changes in the city."
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Aluminium sheets used to barricade a garden, were removed and dumped outside DY Patil stadium
"The streetlights were dysfunctional for more than a year, but just because of the games, motorists enjoyed uninterrupted service for the last few weeks. It's unfortunate that the situation has gone back to what it was. This just shows the civic body in poor light. They only care about maintaining a farcical image for the world."
The aluminium fencing around a garden near the stadium was also removed over the weekend. The garden had been barricaded to prevent any encroachments. "After the fencing was cleared, the aluminium sheets were dumped outside the stadium," said another resident, Raj Kamble.
Now, motorists are worried that the new pothole-free roads will also slowly give way.
However, an NMMC official said that in a meeting held last week, the civic body had cited the inability of the state's Public Works Department to maintain the Sion-Panvel Highway. "We have decided to take on the responsibility of maintaining 14 km of the 25-km road stretch," the official said.
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