The condition of the road has worsened over the past few months, with the number of potholes doubling to 400, despite the BMC taking charge of it over two months ago
It was over two months ago that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) took charge of the Aarey Colony link road in Aarey Milk Colony, assuring it would end toll collection and begin road repairs immediately.
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With the condition of Aarey Milk Colony Road only getting worse, the potholes continue to pose a serious risk to those riding two-wheelers. Pic/Nikesh Gurav
But the civic body is yet to follow through on the second promise. If anything, the road is now in a worse condition, with the number of potholes almost doubling in the past few months, from around 200 to over 400 small and large craters along the entire stretch.
On the midnight of August 18, the BMC took over control of the road from the Chief Executive Officer of the Aarey Colony Complex. BMC Additional Commissioner S V R Srinivas had told mid-day that the road would be repaired soon.
However, it should be noted that mid-day has been visiting the pothole-ridden road at regular intervals, and has observed that only minor repairs were made ahead of Ganeshotav, to facilitate the visarjan journey for mandals and devotees heading to Aarey tank for immersion.
However, even then, the repairs were half-hearted, with workers simply scattering gravel on the potholes. Within a few days, the gravel was washed out. “We have been repairing the road in patches since we took charge of it, but the condition of the road is so bad that the pothole issue won’t be resolved until the road is repaired entirely,” said Srinivas.
For some time, Jetpatcher machines were parked near the Goregaon end of Aarey Milk Colony, leading the local residents to believe that the BMC would soon begin repairs in earnest. One of the residents, K Dubey, told this newspaper, “BMC just made big promises before taking over the road, saying they will repair it.
It has been close to three months now, but apart from doing patchwork, the BMC has not filled potholes, because of which the chances of bikes skidding and crashing have increased. Also, the bumpy roads cause a huge problem while transporting patients to the hospital.”
This correspondent visited the area and found more than 400 potholes on the road; the worst affected stretch lies between the entrance of Aarey Road at the Western Express Highway and Aarey Market. In this stretch itself, there are more than 300 potholes.
There are also potholes on the street going towards Marol and Powai. According to the BMC, the repairs will resume soon. “Our staff was on election duty, because of which we were not able to repair the road. This week, we will start the repair work,” added Srinivas.
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