BMC gives Colaba a road to cheer about

MUMBAI: In a rare instance of the civic body coming in for praise by citizens, those who live on Henry Road, Colaba, have expressed satisfaction at the BMC’s work on their road and the pavement along it. For months, the stretch was in such bad shape that pedestrians would injure themselves by tripping over the uneven surface. Sometime ago, a senior citizen had fallen on the road, fracturing both her legs. Such travails have now come to an end as the BMC worked on the stretch for a month, evening it out.

Henry Road resident Pervez Cooper from the Clean Heritage Colaba Residents Association (CHCRA) said the road was dug up just before the monsoon, to the annoyance of locals. “The BMC had taken up work on storm water drains (SWD) and after completing the same, laid paver blocks on the road. This had upset many of us. Finally, after getting behind them continuously, we are happy that the condition of the road has improved and that too much beyond our expectation. One of the contractors and an engineer stood at the site almost every day to ensure that the work was done appropriately,” Cooper said.

Supervisor Nitesh Patil, who oversaw the work, said his team had to be careful especially because there is a school in the vicinity and they wanted to ensure that students or teachers weren’t inconvenienced.

Priti Kumar (61), the senior citizen who had fallen on the stretch and broke her legs in April 2018, which left her immobile for four months, said that while the BMC may have gone beyond citizens’ expectations, one should wait for the next monsoon before passing judgment on the work.

Meanwhile, local corporator Sujata Sanap said she regularly followed up on the work. “I had raised the matter in the civic standing committee, asking the members to ensure that road projects were completed on priority.”