Residents hit the streets as craters surface on Aarey road

Hope and relief brought by the 2022 refurbishing of a 18km road in Aarey Colony was washed away in just twothree days of rain which brought back cratersized potholes Local residents staged a protest demanding that the authorities give them permanent relief from potholesThe 18km road from Aarey Market Junction to Mayur Nagar and Royal Palms was refurbished in May last year but could hold out against only one monsoon The rains this year left numerous potholes many as huge as cratersA group of local residents gathered four days back to protest against the poor condition of the road They have demanded a safe road that can withstand more than just one monsoonThe 18km stretch between Mayur Nagar and Aarey Market JunctionMain demandTheir main demand is that the BMC take over the maintenance responsibility from the Aarey CEO office The process has begun but the residents want them to work quickly According to a letter by the agriculture dairy development and fisheries department the chief minister has approved the handover to the BMCOther roads in Aarey Colony are no better Potholes on many roads even at Royal Palms neighbourhood have not been fixed for a long time residents alleged ldquoTo cross a 5km road towards Goregaon we leave two hours in advance due to potholes Why are we paying property tax 38 per cent more than in the other parts of Mumbai The road to Powai is worserdquo said Bharat Palam a residentPoor roads a threatAnand Sharma another resident said he lost his fatherinlaw because the ambulance could not reach them in time owing to bad roads ldquoHe had lung fibrosis and we wasted an hour looking for an ambulance Eventually I drove him to the hospital where the doctor said we didnrsquot make it in time to save himrdquo he addedA paan waala and a food stall owner claimed that they saw a 80 per cent jump in profits after the road was fixed in May last year as more people stopped by while travelling on the road Most importantly the transportation costs came down due to even roads and we could keep more varieties said a vegetable vendorStd XII student Pratik Yadav said his family is hoping he would get into a medical college to pursue MBBS but ldquoI have missed classes which has affected my grades in school I canrsquot even cope with exam stress through extracurricular activities because I spend most of the time travellingrdquoPalam said they have repeatedly approached the BMC commissioner the contractor and the authorities concerned for a permanent solution but there has been no response Residents had written to them again last month he addedldquoMy 82yearold motherrsquos spinal cord got compressed due to the bad roads We wasted 45 minutes for an ambulance Because it arrived late she had to stay in the ICU for a week She is so scared that she does not want to stay with merdquo he addedDadarao Bilhore who is famously known as lsquopothole babarsquo told midday that since his sonrsquos death in a pothole accident in 2015 he has filled over 1500 potholes across the city The solution to this reoccurring problem is cement roads he saidAarey CEO Balasaheb Wakchauredid not respond to middayrsquos request for commentMayMonth in 2022 the 18 km road was fixed