Who is responsible for this danger spot?

If you thought that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was the only body to be blamed for bad roads in the city, then think again. The civic body has company.u00a0A recent accident on the Tulsi Pipeline Road, just 15 metres away from Mahim station, revealed that the ill-maintained road was MTNL's fault, as it has a utility chamber at the spot and is surrounded by paver blocks. The shoddily placed paver blocks had ruined the level of the road.

Philo Lokare at the spot on Tulsi Pipeline Road where she met with an accident on December 31; the injury Lokare sustained to her right foot in the mishap. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

When contacted, BMC officials said it was not their duty to fix the roads near utility chambers as they belonged to various other departments and bodies. This put the locals in quandary over whom to approach so that the road can be fixed. Despite repeated attempts, officials from MTNL remained unreachable.

The mishap
Philo Lokare met with an accident on December 31 around 11 pm. She claimed the incident occurred due to uneven road near the chamber, as one half of the road was built using paver blocks and the other using concrete.

Local shopkeepers and residents said that they have witnessed several two-wheeler accidents on the stretch because of the uneven road. The stretch between Mahim and Matunga station alone has 12 to 13 spots where the level of the road is uneven.

Lokare said, "I have travelled on this road several times in the past and have avoided several such holes. But this time I wasn't that lucky. My bike went close to the chamber and without getting an opportunity to maintain my balance I crashed on the road. I injured my right leg. I'm finding it difficult to stand or walk because of the excruciating pain. I hope that the road is repaired at the earliest so that more accidents can be averted. With so many holes, the stretch looks very dangerous."

Civic reply
Chief Engineer of BMC Road department D R Dixit said, "The Road department cannot take the onus of all the chambers, as several belong to the water and sewage department or have phone lines going under them. But whenever our engineers do come across bad roads near chambers, we immediately take up the issue with the department concerned."