Only two of four killer potholes filled in a year in Kalyan, Dombivli

Little has changed in KalyanDombivli a year after potholes caused the death of five people Of the four spots where the deaths occurred only two have been fixed midday found out upon revisiting the areasThe spot where two deaths occurred is a stretch in Shivaji Chowk Kalyan On June 3 2018 fiveyearold Aarav Athrale died while he was on his way home with his father and pregnant mother on a twowheeler The slippery and potholefilled road caused the vehicle to slip after which the rear wheels of a speeding tanker crushed Aarav to deathAlso ReadThane residents gather in silence to poke holes in potholefilling claimsThe stretch in Shivaji Chowk Kalyan claimed two lives last year one ofwhich was Aarav Atharale 5 who died in an accident caused by potholesNothing will changeMahesh Aaravs father said I think nothing will change Until we protested a week after my sons death none of the authorities filled or levelled the roads This year the situation is the same and it is really sad to see that despite the deaths the local municipal corporation and the MSRDC officials are least bothered in levelling these roads They are wasting our money energy people and enjoying themselves by taking good salariesAlso ReadMumbai Twoyearold dies in a freak pothole accident in ThaneManisha Bhoir and Arun MahajanThe same spot also claimed the life of Manisha Bhoir 40 on July 7 2018 She was riding pillion with her neighbour on their bike when a pothole caused the bike to jerk after which she fell off it A truck behind them dragged Bhoir for a few metres after which she diedShrikant Pathare Manishas uncle said All of us have been fighting to get the potholes filled but the way authority is working we dont think theyll get filled this year too All of us are in a helpless situationThe second spot is the stretch from Patri pul to Kon village where one person died last year and one this year This road has been built by the MSRDC While they have not taken up repairs on the road the KalyanDombivli Municipal Corporation KDMC hasnt done anything to help matters either Baliram Naik a local rickshaw driver said The road has been in a bad condition for the whole year not just the monsoon Last year we also joined the protests because every day we used to see someone suffering in an accident due to the bad condition of the road It is completely uneven because of which so many bike riders end up slipping from their vehicle during the monsoon Fortunately no one has died this year people have ended up with minor injuries The road including the flyover is in a terrible state It is troublesome for the traffic police too Once the bridge towards the road is crossed the stretch is terrible till the KalyanBhiwandi phataAlso ReadBMC spends over Rs 17000 per pothole in Mumbai on repairsWhy use paver blocksNear Kon village Asif Shaikh a rickshaw driver died in July 2018 was dodging massive potholes when a truck collided with his rickshaw and killed himThis year on August 9 one Arun Mahajan died on the same stretch at Patri pul while he was on his bike after a speeding truck dashed into his vehicle another bike and an autorickshawWhile his family was unavailable for comment other residents of the area shared the issues theyve been facing on the stretch Shop owner Deepak Thakkar from Kon village who witnessed the accident last year said The accident was so terrifying that to this day I get scared upon seeing a truck pass by a rickshaw The road had so many big potholes at the time Nothing has changed Authorities have put some paver blocks on that patch but the rest of the road is still in a bad conditionLocal Deepak Thakkar right said while paver blocks were used to repair some parts of this road near Kon village while a major portion is badpotholes in Mumbai poll codelta hrefhttpspollfm10389358gtOver the last year do you see an increase in potholes in MumbailtagtAnother shop owner Mahesh Thakur said There are no streetlights on this main road which connects to the Nashik highway MSRDC is least bothered Who uses paver blocks on the road It is very difficult to drive or ride on this road One will definitely face health issues But one thing all of us realised is that political leaders MPs MLAs or any MSRDC or MMRDA official dont bother if someone dies because of potholes Its very sad that we dont even get the basic facility of good roadsMinor repairs have been carried out on Malang Road in Kalyan but potholes like this one remainDespite repeated attempts Eknath Shinde the cabinet minister of PWD MSRDC and Anil Gaikwad chief engineer MSRDC remained unavailable for commentCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates