Amid potholes resurfacing on the roads with the onset of monsoon in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday instructed secondary engineers appointed across 227 civic wards to ramp up inspection and fill potholes on a priority basis.
Each year, the civic body registers an uptick in complaints of potholes as the rains intensify. Even as the city is currently witnessing a mega-concretisation project which was launched in 2022 to make Mumbai’s roads ‘pothole free’, the BMC has allocated Rs 154 crore for repairing potholes this year. According to officials, while the number of potholes have decreased gradually over the past three years, contractors have been appointed for roads which are yet to be concretised.
Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects)Abhijit Bangar on Monday said secondary engineers have been deployed across 227 wards to monitor nearly 10-15 km of roads. In a review meeting convened by municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Bangar instructed senior officials that the appointed engineers should visit roads by travelling on bikes after every two days. Engineers have been instructed to proactively look for potholes and fill them in time.
To prevent the roads from deteriorating, BMC engineers have been directed to fill the potholes when it is 6-12 inches deep. Furthermore, Bangar added that pits should be filled using mastic asphalt, instructing officials to refrain from cold mix.
“It must be ensured that mastic cookers are in good condition and available for use. Special attention should be paid to ensure that the production and availability of mastic is done timely,” added Bangar. This year, contractors have been directed to equip the mastic cooker vehicles with GPS devices and vehicle tracking system to maintain accountability.
