Mumbai's dug-up roads raise questions: Why no sign of signage, BMC?

With broken footpaths and dugup roads across the city are contractors adhering to norms mandated by the Bombay High Court Have they put up boards detailing when the work began and when it will be completed Are barricades in place to protect pedestrians and are all safety measures being followed What exactly has the court saidAdvocate Floyd Gracias Supreme Court Counsel and former law faculty at several Mumbai colleges said ldquoRoads across Mumbairsquos suburbs are largely dug up As per the Bombay High Courtrsquos order in Suo Motu PIL No 71 of 2013 roads and footpaths must be kept levelled and in good condition However ongoing construction work grossly violates this orderNo barricades or signage have been put on Dev Nagar Derasar road in Borivli West on April 6 PicSatej ShindeThe order mandates boards with construction details including start and end dates and the date of full restoration In most suburban areas these boards are absent leaving citizens in the dark unable to plan vehicular movement or daily commutesSection 319 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 also requires a public notice when roads are shut This is rarely followed causing extreme inconvenience especially to senior citizens Section 321 mandates securing dugup areas for public safety but this too is often ignored posing risks of accidentsrdquoSignage on Rebello Road in Bandra PicsShadab Khanmidday reporters visited five city zones to check the ground realityWestern suburbs Bandra AndheriIn Bandra West and Andheri West where BMC is laying cement concrete roads signs of both compliance and violation were found On St Roques Road in Bandra a 260metre stretch from Rebello Road junction to Mt Carmel Road was under construction At a few locations proper barricades with banners listing contractor details and work timelines were seen QR codes had also been pasted on some of themSignage on St Roques Road in BandraA senior citizen associated with the local ALM said ldquoThe mention of the contractorrsquos name and BMC officer on the barricades is helpfulmdashwe can raise issues directlyrdquo However parts of the stretch lacked barricades posing a risk to pedestrians One senior citizen said ldquoThere are trenches on the stretch and no streetlights at night Without proper barricades itrsquos a serious safety hazardrdquoDhaval Shah chairman of the local citizensrsquo associationIn SVP Nagar Andheri West roads were dug up without any signage or barricading Lokhandwala resident Dhaval Shah chairman of the local citizensrsquo association said ldquoMany citizens donrsquot know when work started or when itrsquoll end In some areas work has been on for over 2ndash3 months without completionrdquoNorthern suburbs Borivli Malad DahisarFrom Dahisar to Goregaon residents are dealing with dugup roads blocked access and little to no information In Dahisar Eastrsquos Anand Nagar road work on the CS Road led to a damaged water pipeline leaving residents without water for two days The contractor denied responsibility while BMC shifted blame back to himExcorporator Sheetal Mhatre argues with surveyor Dongar Singh over poor road surface at Eksar Road Borivli West PICDWEEP BANERanjeeta Soni a resident said ldquoThe trench outside our home is so deep we must walk over loose barricades daily risking accidentsrdquo Activist Rajesh Pandya pointed out that despite instructions from Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and the BMC commissioner to finish work before monsoon the R North ward has failedRoad work on the CS Road in Anand Nagar Dahisar East damaged a water pipeline leaving residents without supply for two daysldquoIn Dahisar East concrete work started two years ago and is still incomplete Paver blocks were laid instead of concrete and are now sinking under heavy vehiclesrdquo In Malad Gaurav Singh said residents donrsquot know which department is doing what and therersquos no signage to clarify In Borivli and Goregaon shops and building entrances remain blocked for weeksBarricades are haphazardly set up around a dugup road at Eksar Road Borivli West PICDWEEP BANEFormer corporator Sheetal Mhatre called the Eksar Road works reckless ldquoTherersquos no planning or supervision Manholes are lower than road level making twowheeler travel dangerous Gaps between old and new stretches trap water worsening flooding in areas like Eksar GaonrdquoRajesh Kumar PandyaShe also flagged missing dowel barsmdashkey to concrete road durabilitymdashand said shoddy work would crack by the first monsoon ldquoOne spot was dug up thrice for the same water leakage with departments blaming each other It took 20 days to fixmdashthis couldrsquove led to contaminationrdquo she saidContractor site supervisor Vishnu Purohit said ldquoWork is on track and will be completed by May 31rdquo But with monsoon approaching residents remain anxiousEastern suburbs Mulund Ghatkopar ChemburIn the eastern suburbs multiple stretches of road have been dug up simultaneously Most sites lack clear signage barricading or information about the work Where barricades exist they are often placed casually with no details of the contractor or project timelines Long stretches along the arterial road leading into Mulund from the Eastern Express Highway have been dug up causing traffic jams Similar conditions prevail in Ghatkoparrsquos Chheda NagarLack of signage and barricading at multiple roads in MulundldquoThis is not developmentmdashthis is destruction Itrsquos turning a planned city into a messrdquo said activist Kamal Kotai referring to CG Nagpal Road in Mulund Colony ldquoFor 80 days residents have suffered due to mismanagement poor coordination and no accountabilityKamal Kotai activistDespite IITdesigned plans nothing is being followed Irsquove tried reaching officials but the listed numbers are either switched off or unreachablerdquo He added ldquoAn accident recently occurred highlighting the negligence We will hold the Road Department AE and JE responsible for any damage or lossrdquoCentral Mumbai Matunga Sion Wadala MahimIn areas such as Sion Koliwada Matungarsquos Dadar Parsi Colony Madhavan Road and Mahimrsquos Manmala Tank Road the lack of safety measures is putting motorists at serious riskBarricades and signage missing on the Manmala Tank Road in MahimIn Sion Koliwada the Rajyogi Jaimal Singh Road is dug up for concreting at Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar There is no barricading in place nor any dustcontrol measures Professor Parveish Vishwanath of GNVS College which is located on the same road said ldquoThis road is not motorable There are no safety measures Only a small stretch has been completed Authorities need to expedite the repairsrdquoAt Jame Jamshed Road in Matungarsquos Dadar Parsi Colony there is again no proper barricading Though a contractorrsquos representative claimed a mist gun is used to control dust resident Payal Shah highlighted that half the road is concretised while the other half remains asphalt creating a dangerous height difference ldquoThis is especially risky for twowheelers If the work isnrsquot finished before monsoon it could be dangerousrdquo she said The contractor assured midday the work would be completed before the monsoonBarricade without any signage on road outside Guru Nanak College Raoli Camp GTB NagarResident Darayus Bacha added ldquoThe contractor took permission to work at night We agreed because we understand the urgency of completing the work before the rainsrdquo At Mahimrsquos Kapda Bazar Road safety and dust control are near nonexistent Therersquos no barricading and workers are seen ignoring basic safety protocols ldquoA thick layer of dust has accumulated on the road but no preventive steps are being takenrdquo said local resident Samnan ShaikhProf K Praveish Vishwanath Aiyar Payal Shah and Samnan ShaikhAt Manmala Tank Road in Mahim trees have reportedly been damaged due to unplanned use of JCBs during digging ldquoTwo trees were damaged during road workrdquo said local resident Sachin Sali ldquoThere is no barricade and a part of the road has been dug at least one to oneandahalf metres deep If someone falls in who will take responsibilityrdquoSouth Mumbai Colaba Cuffe Parade Charni RoadWhile most roads in South Mumbai have banners displaying project details midday found a few where neither banners nor QR codes were visible At Purshotamdas Thakurdas Marg in CST which has been dug up for nearly two months as confirmed by staff at Siddharth College and St Annersquos School no signage boards were put upImproper barricading near St Annersquos School Fort PicRitika GondhalekarAt H Somani Marg while a banner was present the start and end dates had been covered with tape Upon removing the tape midday found the project began on 24102024 and is expected to end on 15052027mdasha 24month timeline excluding monsoons However the Traffic NOC mentioned on the board is only valid until 31052025 creating confusionldquoThis road has been dug up for over three months Irsquove never seen a supervisor in the morningA few weeks ago a pipeline issue led to a twoday water outage for all the shops here We called the number on the banner but got no response Only after tweeting and tagging BMC did they actrdquo said Vishal Pande chef at 505 Coffee on Sukhadwala RoadCollapsed barricades at MTNL Lane Gamdevi on April 5 right Barricades with complete information are placed outside Opera House Lane in South Mumbai PICATUL KAMBLEldquoStudents and staff at St Annersquos school struggle with traffic noise and uneven ground A student recently sprained her leg Why not do the work during summer vacation when schools are shutrdquo asked Rohan Singh a security guard at the school ldquoWe canrsquot stand outside college for even five minutes due to the traffic chaos Barricades are often fallen or haphazardly placedrdquo said Nikhilesh Jadhav a student at Siddhartha College of Arts Science and CommerceatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params