06 August,2010 09:06 AM IST | | Shree Lahiri
Market Yard Chowk is teeming with heavy vehicles that transport vegetables and fruits; potholes and water-logging slow them down, leading to jams
The area chosen for Day 5 of Week 4 of the MiD DAY monsoon campaign was Market Yard Chowk. Shree Shiva Chhatrapati Market Yard, locally called Market Yard, is one of the popular market places in the city. It is located near Gultekdi in Maharshi Nagar area.
It is near to Swargate, which is an important commercial area, and is famous as a wholesale market.
In fact, this spot has one of the most important bus depots in the city, besides trucks and tempos that are used for transporting goods to the market.
u00a0Specially during the morning when people come in for buying vegetables, fruits and flowers ufffd this stretch is blocked with cars, auto rickshaws, two-wheelers, trucks, tempos and cycles. The situation is not very different in the evening either, for, on one end you have Satara Road and on the other the thoroughfare that leads to the Swargate junction.
MiD DAY reporter with Vitthal Ingawale, sub-engineer roads, PMC surveyed the trouble spots in this area.u00a0 Ingawale said, "The roads are very broad here - 30-feet wide and the funds that we get are not sufficient to complete the road work."
Survey results and proposed solutions
Market Yard Gate 4
Problem: In front of this gate, there is a patch where the road is uneven. There are potholes too, where the water collects. The water also poses a health hazard, as it's a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Besides, the goods that are stocked here can get damaged and rot too. This part is a busy stretch, with many vendors and you also find vehicles parked on the side.
PMC's promise: Ingawale said, "We will remove the rubble and will repair the potholes. We will cover it up and will complete this job today itself."
Petrol Pump at Gate 5
Problem: At the entrance to the pump, there are stones, rubble that make the area uneven. Water collects here, making it inconvenient for telagadis and autos to move. They cannot use the main road which is full of traffic. Ingawale said the road sloped here from both ends so water accumulated here near the main gate.
PMC's promise: PMC said they would clean the area and fill up the potholes. "We will cover it with murum so that water will not be able to collect here," said Ingawale.
Main Gate of Market Yardu00a0
Problem: There is ceaseless flow of traffic here because of trucks, tempos that bring in the vegetables, fruits in the wee hours. The road is patchy and uneven. We also spotted a couple of potholes on the right side of the path to the main gate. On the left side, there is an auto stand. Prakash Gaudekar, who came from Katraj with a huge sack of 'matki' said, "Roj aise hi musibat hain." When it rains, water-logging is another problem.u00a0u00a0
PMC's promise: Ingawale said PMC would start work immediately and finish it within 24 hours.u00a0