In an interview with MiD DAY, Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta explains why potholes keep reappearing on roads; says repair plans have been chalked out

A day after MiD DAY reported on the deplorable condition of the 12 worst roads in Mumbai, we caught up with Aseem Gupta, additional municipal commissioner, who is in charge of maintaining roads, at the BMC headquarters. He seemed pretty impressed with the coverage and welcomed any suggestions and feedback, promising to act on them. He readily answered our questions while in conversation with us, and assured a similar attitude of readiness in the matter of filling up the gaping craters and maintaining the
roads.
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Digging menace: Constant digging makes the earth loose, as a result
of which water seeps into the ground, causing craters and potholes to
reappear on the surface. file pic

The basic question that every commuter and pedestrian in Mumbai is asking: Why are our roads riddled with potholes?
There are more than two dozen utility services in Mumbai, necessitating pipes and cables that run underneath our roads. Once a road is constructed, it is continuously dug up for different purposes relating to these services. Even a single seepage in the road inundates it with water. Our biggest enemy on the roads is water ufffd the moment water enters the road, it begins to damage it, affecting its quality. We construct roads of quality, but they don't get enough time to recover from the damages they sustain.
We are planning a duct system to improve the situation. The project will be discussed with the municipal commissioner and a report will be ready in a few days. There are 37 utility companies in the city. If we don't allow them to dig, then the citizens will be denied gas, internet, phone lines and other indispensable services. Constant digging makes the earth loose, as a result of which water seeps into the ground, causing craters and potholes to reappear on the surface.

Monsoon is the worst season for roads. What are the special steps you are taking to ensure that Mumbaikars will not have to suffer because of potholes?
We have already started working on the roads. The work will progress in two phases, since the monsoon is nearly two months away. Phase I has already commenced. I have issued tenders, and contractors will be repairing the roads soon. We have allocated Rs 17 crore for the work. The biggest hurdle during monsoons is that rains spoil the filling applied to cover the potholes. Moreover, we can't prevent traffic from plying on the affected roads for long periods of time. Phase II of the work will begin soon. In this phase, we will repair the potholes and examine the trenches. We will try to foresee all possible problems that can crop up in the monsoons, and address them in advance by taking preventive action.