Every summer the same story begins with work on hundreds of roads in Mumbai. There is no moral taken from this tale, an unpleasant one that unfolds every monsoon as the work remains incomplete. The political bosses have changed, and so have the senior bureaucrats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Yet the civic body seems set to offer the same back-breaking, speed-curbing pothole ridden roads to Mumbai this year.

The BMC has just 15 days to finish the road work before it begins to rain. A good one-third of Mumbai’s roads remain in pathetically poor condition due to ongoing work. As per the latest figures, of the 1,200-plus roads where work started, the BMC is yet to finish the repairs on 450-plus roads. It’s a race against time for civic authorities.