Bring all Mumbai roads under one agency, demand experts

If Mumbai has to be pothole free roads have to be under the aegis of a single body This is what road and transport exports propose as a solution They say that having a single agency would help maintain uniform quality across the cityThere are multiple agencies and departments looking after different roads and flyovers in the city The Public Works Department PWD is responsible for the Western and Eastern Express Highway WEH and EEH The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC looks after arterial roads like SV Road LBS Marg and other internal roadsThe Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA maintains flyovers it constructed in the last five years like the SantacruzChembur Link Road Some flyovers are also under the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporations MSRDC ndash whose agency Mumbai Entry Point Limited collects toll at five entry points to the city and is also supposed to maintain a majority of flyovers on WEH EEH and SionPanvel highwayWe caught a PWDdeputed contractor filling potholes just at the northbound end of the flyover near domestic airport at Santacruz The workers simply filled the hole with tar and dumped some stones inside it to cover up the hole When we started recording them lsquodoing their jobrsquo the workers retreated PicsSuresh K KSpeaking to midday transport expert Jitendra Gupta said ldquoSince there are multiple agencies involved in making and maintaining roads itrsquos really difficult to have the same quality of roads across the cityThere is no coordination between these agencies even while planning new projects because of which at different places we see different types of roads In order to have a proper network of goodquality roads there needs to be a single agency whose job is the construction and upkeep of roadsrdquoNightmare continuesThis year like every year potholes on roads have continued to place severe physical and mental strain upon Mumbaikars WEH portions of EEH large stretches of SV Road and LBS Marg are pockmarkedThe southbound stretch of Dindoshi flyover continues to be a thorn in the flesh causing kilometrelong traffic snarls The path inside Aarey Milk Colony is even worse ndash it has 500 potholes in a 4km stretch Promises made by the authorities assuring people a smooth ride have been dismally off the markEven repair work is temporary a couple of showers washes away the asphalt Paver blocks are dislodged by heavy traffic making the street uneven ldquoExperts who are experienced in making goodquality roads should be involved in the construction process Before using the material it should be tested so that taxpayersrsquo money isnrsquot wastedrdquo Gupta suggestedA senior PWD official requesting anonymity said ldquoHaving multiple agencies for roads causes a huge problem Either the PWD or MSRDC should be given the charge of maintaining at least important roads so that the quality of roads can be kept uniform Contractors who are in charge of making the road should be given clear orders that no potholes should occur on the newly made roads for at least twothree yearsIf they do appear the firm should be blacklisted and barred from taking government contracts Also the agency looking after the roads should visit the location or conduct surprise visits to check if the contractor is using substandard materialrdquoA few good onesThe BandraWorli Sea Link has largely stayed free of potholes it has been constructed using Polymer Modified Bitumen PMB a mixture used to construct runways The elevated portion of the Eastern Freeway also employed the same mixtureldquoRoads constructed using PMB material not only have a longer life compared to the other roads but also make for a good driving experiencerdquo said an MMRDA official N V Merani the former chairman of Standards Technical Advisory Committee which advises the BMC on roads told midday ldquoWe had suggested that the BMC take up a planned programme for strengthening pavement and maintaining roadsIt is the civic bodyrsquos duty to maintain city roads but we have various agencies coming in and creating confusion We have given the BMC designs to follow but they havenrsquot been doing so Potholes occur due to poor quality of laid material and superficial treatment given just before monsoonsrdquo