Mumbai : Shivsena Party workers Protest against pothole along with School Childrens painting completion of Pothole at Daulat Nagar Santacruz west. Photo by BL SONI Potholes proliferate on mandals’ routes
Mumbai : It’s close to the time of the year when Ganesha comes visiting and to ensure that the ‘Remover of Obstacles’ has a smooth ride home, Ganpati mandals appealed to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to fill up potholes on the roads leading to their pandals. The city being lashed by heavy rain has fuelled pothole anxiety, which is not misplaced.
Members of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS), the umbrella body of all Ganesh mandals in the city, met BMC officials on July 6 to discuss the issue and they claim the civic body has acceded to the request.
“Vijay Singhal (Additional Municipal Commissioner) has assured us regarding potholes on roads leading to Ganesh mandals. We urged all 10,800 mandals in the city to check their areas for potholes. If found, the mandals have to send, along with the mandal name, the route, road’s name, ward it belongs to, name of the applicant and position s/he holds in the mandal to either their respective wards or the umbrella body,” said Naresh Dahibavkar, President, BSGSS. After the ward receives these details, civic officials will supposedly get to work and make the ride easy for city’s favourite God.
Some mandals are sceptical about Ganesh Chaturthi being celebrated with the same fervour as in past years because this year, not just potholes, the ongoing plastic ban in the state, coupled with the Bombay High Court’s order on July 13, which barred the use of thermocol for celebrations, have become major obstacles in the mandals’ paths. “There is hardly any time left for the festival and with plastic and thermocol ruled out for decoration, we don’t want potholes to further hinder celebrations,” said another member of the umbrella body.
Another pothole mishap in Kalyan: Civic staffer hurt
MUMBAI: Late on Friday night, a Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation staffer, Vijay Dalal, was seriously injured when he lost control of his two-wheeler as it skidded over a pothole on the main road of Chinchpada, Kalyan. Dalal was returning home after work at around 9 pm when his vehicle slipped into a pothole and he fell, sustaining severe head injuries and losing consciousness. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
Early on Friday morning, a 26-year-old businessman, Kalpesh Jadhav, was killed on his way home from Kalyan to Bhiwandi as his two-wheeler skidded over a pothole, causing him to fall and be run over by a speeding truck.