No respite from pock-marked roads

KOPAR KHAIRANE: It’s been a month since it stopped raining, but the abundance of potholes on the city’s roads seems to suggest that the monsoon is back with a vengeance. With the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) taking its own sweet time to start repair work, the temporary patchwork, done during the monsoon season, has deteriorated, exposing ever more potholes on several roads.

The situation is especially severe in Kopar Khairane and several roads, including R F Naik- Sanjog hotel road and those in sectors three, five, six, eight, nine, 10, 19 and 20.

“The repair work could not be taken up as Mahanagar gas and some private telecom companies’ work for laying pipes is yet to start,” said an official f rom NMMC’s engineering department, adding, “The civil work will be taken up soon after the decision on Mahanagar and telecom companies’ pipeline installation is made.”

The civic officials have not yet f i xed t he date for road repair work which has caused resentment among local residents who are fed up with the abysmal state of roads.

“Work should have started by now. I will look into the issue with the concer ned department and ensure t hat t he work begins at the earliest,” said Municipal commissioner Abasaheb Jarhad.

“We were hoping for some respite after the monsoon, but the roads are still bad. I wonder how lethargic the authorities can get,” said Kailash Shinde, a Kopar Khairane resident.

There are reports that potholes have been resurfacing in other nodes such as Nerul as well.

The NMMC administration had spotted 265 potholes during rains. Road digging carried out by the civic body for laying sew-

OFFICIALS HAVE NOT YET FIXED A DATE FOR ROAD REPAIR WORK, CAUSING RESENTMENT AMONG LOCALS WHO ARE FED UP WITH THE ABYSMAL STATE OF ROADS

age and water pipes has also led to a rise in the number of potholes.

BACHCHAN KUMAR Roads that have been dug up by the civic body for laying sewage and water pipes have led to a rise in the number of potholes in Kopar Khairane.