Mumbai: Falling rocks on Worli road pose risk to motorists

The road in Worli next to the hilly section which poses a danger of landslides PicsShadab KhanPedestrians motorists and government buildings near Worli RTO are on shaky ground literally After finding a hilly portion behind the Regional Transport Office RTO risky and dangerous the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has sent a notice to take corrective measures against possible landslide on Sir Pochkhanwala Road Offices of Maharashtra State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation AntiCorruption Bureau traffic police department are on this roadThe road adjoining the hilly portion which poses a risk of landslidesLocals and motorists had complained about the possibility of a mishap due to a landslide owing to small portions of loose rocks often seen falling on the road and footpath behind the RTO located at the top of the hill near INS TRATA a Navy missile base Schoolchildren also frequent the road and footpath during weekdays as there is a school in the vicinityFollowing the seriousness of the issue local Yuva Sena leader Abhijit Patil had sent a written complaint to the BMC Public Works Department PWD and the RTO After his complaint the BMC had carried out an inspection of the site last year In its report September 2017 civic officials found the place dangerous because of soil erosion during the monsoon Also the pressure created by storage of groundwater adds to the risk of a landslide the report saidlsquoNo action till datersquoSpeaking to midday Patil said We have been following this issue for the last five months As the land is under RTOrsquos jurisdiction BMC had sent several letters to it asking it to take corrective measures The road is used by motorists and students as is the footpath adjacent to the hilly portion During the monsoon possibility of a landslide is higher and rains will start in two months now Yet there has been no action till dateAlso water seepage can be seen from the rear of the RTO compound wall due to leakage from a drain pipe The work on a retaining wall should be done before the monsoon What will be the point of doing it after lives are lost Why do authorities wake up only after casualtiesRepeated remindersA senior civic official from Gsouth ward said Despite several reminders therersquos been no response from the RTO which should construct a retaining wall to avoid any untoward incident We sent a fresh letter in March specifically mentioning that if anything happened the RTO would be held responsible yet therersquos been no response On March 30 assistant engineer Maintenance Department of Gsouth ward wrote another letter copy of which is with midday to MHADA and PWD to take precautionary measures at the earliestDocuments available with midday show that in the last five months Gsouth Worli ward wrote letters to RTO to take action to avoid mishaps the first letter was sent on September 8 2017 informing it about the possibility of a landslide After not getting any response the civic body had sent another on September 30 2017 stating that it was a very important and serious issue and required immediate actionThe other sideSpeaking to midday Assistant Engineer of PWD Anil Kanitkar said We are aware of the issue and plan to construct a retaining wall Recently we prepared an estimate of the work and sent it to the RTO to procure funds from it Once it is approved we will invite tenders and start work If funds are sanctioned soon we will try and finish the work before monsoon startsAlso ReadMumbai Flouting BMCs Roadside Vehicle Washing Ban Poses Serious Threat To MotoristsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates