Rajesh Rathod claims to have successfully been able to repair a road on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway near Khed Shivapur. (Express photo)
After a Pune-based surface coating technologist claimed to have developed a solution to get rid of potholes on city roads, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has started a trial to check its effectiveness.
Rajesh Rathod has claimed that he has been able to develop a chemical to repair potholes and has successfully been able to repair a road on the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway near Khed Shivapur.
“We received information on the successful experiment of a city-based surface coating technologist to repair potholes on [the] highway. Soon, the PMC approached him to verify the claims and also visited a location in the city limits where potholes on an internal road within a housing society was repaired effectively,” said Aniruddha Pawaskar, incharge of the PMC’s road department.
He said the PMC has asked him to prove the effectiveness of the chemical and method by which potholes are removed on city roads. “The civic administration has selected a busy Pune-Satara road to verify the effectiveness of the method and chemical used to repair potholes. Potholes at the Laminarayan theatre junction near Swargate were repaired on Wednesday night and their condition will be monitored by civic staffers,” he said.
If the trial becomes successful, then the PMC will plan for its use across the city to get rid of potholes that have emerged in the monsoon, Pawaskar said.
Rathod, however, claimed his trial was successful on the national highway where the repaired patch of road is still intact even after witnessing rain and heavy vehicular movement. “I am confident that the trial on city roads will also be successful and bring about a major change in the way potholes are repaired,” he said.
The surface coating technologist said he studied the factors behind the emergence of potholes to come out with a solution for it.
He said the main reason for a pothole is due to rainwater and sunlight along with the overloading of roads with heavy traffic. “Potholes do not only create problems but are also threats to lives of motorists and others. They also create traffic jams causing inconvenience to residents,” Rathod said.
It was observed that the main hurdle in repairing of potholes was water as it delayed the repairing and reuse of road. “A chemical was created to use water in potholes for repairing of the road. It took two years to create the chemical that could be effectively used in rainy, winter or summer season for repairing of roads and making them pothole-free,” Rathod said.
“The moment chemical is poured in a pothole, it turns into a sticky solution and forms a cross-linking formation after concrete mixed with another chemical is poured in the pothole. The road is ready for use within 60 to 90 minutes,” he added.
The two chemicals can help repair roads with concrete or asphalt and do not need any machinery or huge manpower, said Rathod, adding that there is no adverse effect on the repaired road after 30 minutes even after exposure to rainwater.
He said he would approach the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) for verifying his claims and in turn get a certification for his successful experiment. “I am not a contractor for constructing or repairing roads… I will supply the chemicals to anyone who wants to make use of it,” Rathod said.