Mumbai: Why are we paying toll when roads are not even repaired, ask commuters

Terrible highways not only add to the risk of accidents but also lead to more expenses for motorists Reason apart from paying toll taxes and buying fuel a ride on a potholeridden highway leads to damage to the vehicle and unexpected technical snags and motorists have to bear the brunt A number of motorists and bikers told midday they had to spend several thousands on repairs all thanks to the bad condition of roadsAlso readMilind Deora seeks CBI probe into Rs 12k cr spent by BMC on roads in 5 yearsThe stretch of MumbaiNashik Highway near Igatpuri which motorists said damaged their vehiclesDuring the testdrives midday talked to motorists on MumbaiPune Expressway MumbaiNashik Highway and the Vapi stretch of MumbaiAhmedabad Highway and found that those taking MumbaiPune Expressway had a smoother ride due its cement concrete surface but the situation on the two highways were shocking as many complained of damages to their cars tyres and even shock absorbersPotholes so big that even tempos get stuckThe situation of MumbaiNashik Highway was not any different with motorists and bikers saying the most common issues they face are tyre puncture damage to the suspension wheel alignment as well as damage to the oil tankThe stretch of MumbaiNashik Highway just before Bhagat Tara Singh restaurant is a spot where several vehicles sustain damages due to huge potholes PicsPradeep DhivarRs 11000 to repair oilSpeaking to midday motorist Ramesh Shetty said ldquoAround two weeks ago the oil chamber of my car got damaged due to the potholeridden road just before Kasara I had to tow my car to Ghoti junction and spent R11000 on repairs I heard that vegetable vendors who ferry their produce on this route also have to bear high costs to maintain their vehicles too The condition of the road gets worse with the monsoon I think the toll operator should be penalised for not repairing the roadrdquolsquoPothole broke front bumperrsquoMotorist Shadab Ansari had to pay a high price due to the potholes Narrating his ordeal to midday he said ldquoI was heading to a resort with my friend on August 17 It was raining and there was a huge pothole covered with water and it was not visible The car hit the pothole and the impact was so severe that my front bumper hit the surface and came down as the lock which held the bumper broke It also has an impact on the chassis It took R4000 for the repairs I have decided not to take the highway during monsoon anymorerdquoTempo stuck in potholeRam Gupta a tempo driver whose vehicle got stuck in a pothole said ldquoThe government is responsible for this Irsquom stuck in the middle of the road and now have to call a crane to pull my tempo up I have tried to accelerate the vehicle but all efforts have been in vain due to the deep potholerdquoThe terrible condition of MumbaiAhmedabad HighwayRepairs cost a bomb on MumbaiAhmedabad HighwayThe Vapi stretch of the MumbaiAhmedabad is riddled with potholes causing not only accidents but also damage to vehicles Motorists also pointed out that mechanics on this stretch tend to take advantage of the situation and charge exorbitant rates which they have to pay up in the absence of other optionsThree tyres burst in 20kmBilal Ansari who was travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in his BMW 320D had to suffer due to bad roads He told midday ldquoThe front tyre of my car burst near Gujarat checkpost due to the potholesBut that was not the end after driving down another 20 kms both the front and rear tyres on the right side burst around 10 pm on August 16 I had to pay around Rs 9000 to repair the tyres from a local mechanic In fact I had to wait in a queue there as there were 10 cars ahead of me waiting for repairsrdquolsquoPaid Rs 2500 for repairsPrabhu Swami a biker said ldquoI had gone to Surat recently on my bike and I was really shocked to see the amount of potholes on the highway Just before Manor the front tyre of my bike got stuck in a cratesized pothole Fortunately I didnrsquot fall from the bike but the tyre got punctured The shock absorber also got damaged and I had to shell out Rs 2500 for repairsrdquo He added ldquoThe mechanics there are taking advantage of the situation and are charging exorbitant rates toordquoMechanics charging moreldquoWe were coming to Mumbai from Gujarat in our SUV when the front right tyre went inside a huge pothole and the shock absorber got damaged I had to spend over Rs 4000 at a local mechanicrsquos shop The garage owners and local mechanics are charging high rates Why are we even paying road tax and toll if we cannot get good quality of roadsrdquo asked Vinod PatellsquoRoad not repairedrsquoAditya Yadav a daily commuter on MumbaiAhmedabad Highway said ldquoThere is no proper road from the Fountain Hotel in Ghodbunder till Chena bridge and the next 500 metres Itrsquos been more than a year that the road is lying in that condition without any repair Recently the leaf spring of my car broke due to the bumpy road It took around Rs 2000 to replace it We motorists are frustrated but therersquos no other optionrdquoStranded on highwayA huge pothole near the Gujarat RTO checkpost on the MumbaiAhmedabad HighwayMotorist Ravikant Poddar had recently tweeted ldquonitin_gadkari NHAI_Official due to a big pothole near Charoti 100 km from Mumbai the tyres of my car got burst Stranded on highway New tyres need to be bought Hope u understand the kind of mental agony and financial loss travellers are bearing even after paying toll sicrdquoRs 11kMoney a motorist spent to repair the oil chamberRs 4000Amount Vinod Patel paid for repairing his SUV