A motorist deftly manoeuvres his vehicle to avoid a pit at Mahavir junction in Kandivli West, as  another pothole on the same stretch turns into a culvert. Pics/Suresh Karkera

The ward is a microcosm of Mumbai — slum settlements vie for space with skyscrapers, public transport infrastructure is a mess and roads are fraught with risks. Half of Western Railway’s (WR) trains — some 700 — run to and from Borivli. Even a Metro corridor is in the works. Yet, these are not enough for the growing suburbs. Since a large belt of the Western Express Highway (WEH) falls within this ward, the real estate market has seen an unprecedented and unplanned growth in recent times. Rocky roads: The roads of this ward have earned much notoriety — they are repaired repeatedly, but come undone soon after. The WEH, connecting arterial roads, Link Road and Swami Vivekanand Road are pockmarked with potholes. Not only are substandard material used in laying them, they are also poorly maintained.