One man's crusade against potholes

35-year-old starts campaign to send medical, automobile repair and petrol bills stemming from pock-marked roads tou00a0BMC chief
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If any of the many potholes in the city have damaged your person or property in any way, go ahead, send the monthly bills to the civic commissioner that is the motto of Dilip Moorkoth (35), a Powai resident who is encouraging people not to simply sigh with frustration at potholes, but take some concrete action to address the situation instead.


Dilip Moorkoth, who filed a non-cognisable complaint against the
BMC 4 years ago, stands amidst the gaping potholes on the road
leading towards the international airport at Sahar

This simply means that the next time you sprain you ankle by stepping into a pothole, or damage your car because of them, you should send the bills for automobile repair, extra fuel or medical treatment to the BMC Commissioner Subodh Kumar.

Moorkoth, a senior management executive with a private company, has taken up the crusade against the city's potholes, initiating a unique BMC Commissioner Ko Bill Bhejo campaign on the popular social networking site Facebook.

Barely a week old, the forum has received the enthusiastic approval of 545 Mumbaikars, all of whom are fed up with the civic body's inaction on pothole-ridden roads in the city.

"Mumbai is the fastest moving city in the entire country, but we are forced to slow down because of these potholes.

I, like any other Mumbaikar, have been facing this problem for several years now, and have made attempts to lodge several complaints at the BMC and the MMRDA helplines. But the situation hasn't improved," said Dilip.u00a0

As part of the campaign, Moorkoth has appealed to Mumbaikars to join him in collecting monthly bills for expenses incurred owing to potholes.

He intends to present these bills to the civic chief shortly, so he can forward them to contractors who have failed miserably in making good their many promises of repairing potholes properly.

He believes that this is only a just arrangement, considering that Mumbaikars are also the highest taxpayers in the country.

On August 15, 2008, a frustrated Moorkoth had lodged a non-cognisable complaint (copy with MiD DAY) at the Powai police station against the MMRDA and the BMC, submitting the many complaint token numbers that he received in earlier attempts. As anticipated, this police complaint also failed to yield any results.

He added, "As a tax-paying resident of the city, I have noted time and again how potholes have slowed down traffic in the city, increased fuel consumption for vehicles, and caused physical pain and stress to motorists.

The city is suffering because of the negligence of a few dozen civic officials, who are responsible for road maintenance. I even suffered a personal tragedy when a close friend suffered a miscarriage because of potholes on the roads."

He added, "The roads leading to south Mumbai, which houses the Mantralaya, civic offices and residences of ministers have well maintained roads throughout the year. It is the suburbs that suffer the most.
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It is outrageous that the authorities have not penalised officers or contractors who are responsible for these murderous stretches, responsible for the many accidents on the roads.
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The system needs a serious control mechanism and officers across departments need to be held accountable. There is need for a quality audit within the system on a regular basis," he explained.

Dilip has now applied for a postbox number, to which the supporters of his cause can forward their monthly bills.

Expertspeak
We have treated mild to moderate injuries in joints and spines caused by unexpected jerks suffered by passengers on potholed roads.

The situation is aggravated during rains, since motorists often fail to judge the depth of the potholes. The civic authorities are not upgrading their technologies and following dated methods of road construction.
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The civic body is content with blaming the rains, instead of improving
its shoddy work.
Dr Pradeep Bhosale; Head of the Orthopaedic Department, KEM hospital

Safety tip: Place a pillow or a cushion beneath the seat and around the neck. If possible, slow down your vehicle to reduce jerks.

I was born in Mumbai, and in my 51 years in the city, I have seen many monsoons. But it must be admitted that the condition of the roads here is pathetic. This just exposes the rampant mismanagement and corruption among road contractors. These potholes endanger pregnant women, who may give premature birth, or suffer extensive pain.u00a0
Dr Hrishikesh Pai, Gynaecologist and In-vitro Fertilisation Specialist at Lilavati hospital

Safety tip:u00a0Pregnant women must avoid travelling on two-wheelers and autos. They must also avoid bumpy roads.


Dilip Moorkoth is a management executive in a private firm

I suffer from back aches due to bad roads. Nowadays, there are potholes even on flyovers. A sum of Rs 200- 500 crore is spent every year by the BMC. We have been writing to the authorities, but nobody wants to take responsibility. I support the campaign.
Nitin Dossa; Executive Chairman, Western India Automobiles

Some responses on the Facebook page
I support this noble cause. Mumbaikars have had enough of this egregious BMC-politician nexusu00a0
Apurva Gandhi

I used to travel from Mira Road to Bandra in one hour by bike. But nowadays, even if I leave at 8.30 am, I don't reach office at 10 am.
Mahendra Chaursiya

Did you know?
The BMC had allocated Rs 40 crore for repair of potholes before the monsoons, of which Rs 36 crore has already been spent.u00a0
Till July, 2010: 4,557 pothole locations
Till July, 2011: 2,897 pothole locations
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Potholed city

1,354
Western suburbs
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382
Eastern suburbs

459
Island city

545
No of members on the social networking page in support of the campaign

545
Facebook members have already joined the campaign, speaking out against the apathy of road maintenance authorities.

You can soon forward all your pothole related bills to a dedicated Post Office box.

How you can join the campaign
1. Go to the 'BMC Commissioner Ko Bill Bhejo campaign' page on Facebook.
2. Select the 'like' button
3. Scan the bill and upload it, or write out a consolidated bill with sub-headings for different expenses, and then upload the same.u00a0

The Other Side
Reacting to the campaign, Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar said, "I will speak to the campaigners when they place their concerns before me. Potholes are formed due to heavy rainfall, especially in low-lying areas. Contractors who have failed to repair themu00a0 have already been penalised a sum of Rs 25 lakh. We need a dry spell to undertake the repair work."

Addl Municipal Commissioner (Roads), Aseem Gupta said, "To repair the potholes, we require a dry spell for at least 7-8 days. Otherwise, the mixture gets spoilt."

(As told to Rinkita Gurav)