BMC Mumbai Click Pictures of Repaired Potholes to Prove their Efforts
Corporators, ministers, and even the chief minister have questioned the BMC’s efforts in repairing the potholes. Potholes have become a major point of argument among the political parties in the civic body.
Bad roads are being discussed at every civic body meeting, and a few times, the opposition (Congress-NCP) staged walkouts. The issue has become so big, thanks to relentless criticism in the media, that the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition ruling the BMC had to question the civic officials’ efforts.
The civic chief is personally monitoring the situation. Even at ward level, officials are watching over the contractors. Any compromise in quality is quickly tackled, and the contractor in question gets penalized. A BMC officer from central Mumbai said road contractors will no longer have a “free run”.
The civic officials tried various technologies, mumbo jumbo, tough talk, but potholes just wouldn’t go away. They have now got cameras, obviously not to fill the potholes, but to show they at least tried to get rid of them. Embarrassed civic officials click pictures of potholes they fill to prove their efforts.
For the past few days, every pothole that the civic officials fix, is clicked, pre-repairs and post-repairs. The pictures are diligently sent to newspaper offices.
A senior BMC official said, “Relentless criticism in the media regarding the condition of the city’s roads forced us to take up the cameras. Apart from penalising the road contractors, BMC’s Roads Department officials are clicking pictures to prove our point.”
BMC chief Subodh Kumar had urged his staff to make use of the long weekend and repair as many potholes as possible. A senior official said, “We smoothened the bridge over the Dadar flower market, but we need a respite from rains. Even a short spell of showers washes away the repairs.” BMC says around 90 potholes remain unattended. A few can be found outside the BMC headquarters opposite Azad Maidan. “The road outside BMC headquarters was layered recently with a hot mix, but rains washed it away,” the official said.
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