A pothole drive, which was started by the BMC with a cash prize of Rs 500, has proved to be a challenge for civic officials, who will now have to shell out the reward money. The decision to give away prizes if pothole complaints are not addressed within 24 hours had started a controversy over where the funds will come from.

A civic official said on Friday that the BMC introduced the scheme to enhance productivity of its officers. However, the challenge, where people have been asked to either post a pothole photo or a selfie with the pothole on BMC's Fixit app, will last for a week only (last date is Nov 7).