What repairs? Thane roads still bad: Motorists

Thane: Two days after a 22-year-old Diva biker lost his life to potholes and assurances by Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to have repaired bad stretches, motorists complained that they continue to endure a risky and inconvenient ride on several pockmarked stretches in Thane district. There have been seven pothole-related deaths in Thane district in the last two months.
Kaptan Mali, a resident of Agasan, said: “Even after Sunday’s mishap, the situation on many stretches on Diva Agasan Road continues to remain bad. TMC undertook some cosmetic repairs on the affected stretch, but other areas continue to be risky for motorists.”
According to a TMC study, 1,649 instances of damage to roads have been reported in Thane city this monsoon. The collective expanse of these damaged road patches is around 3,500sqm, which is roughly equal to three Olympic-sized swimming pools. The study also showed that Diva suburb reported the highest number of potholes — 489 — followed by Kalwa and Vartak Nagar wards — 320 and 250, respectively. Wagle Estate ward, which is the assembly constituency of chief minister Eknath Shinde, has around 167 potholes.
TMC officials said they had repaired a majority of these stretches, except highways, by Monday late even-ing. “We have repaired 1,517 potholes till Monday; the rest will be fixed on a priority basis,” said an official. MNS wo-rkers met Thane city engineer on Monday and threatened to stage a protest if the condition of roads didn’t improve.