BMC's Dial-a-Pothole Service

[khanak]

Anxious not to face flak from Mumbaikars this year for potholes during the rains, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has, for the first time, introduced a toll-free number 1916 where citizens can call in to report on potholes in their area. The BMC has promised that a pothole will be filled within 24 hours of a call being made.

According to D L Shinde, chief engineer at BMC's road department, the toll-free number will be operational within a week. "Citizens can just dial 1916, and the pothole will be gone in 24 hours flat. A complaint made by a citizen will be immediately forwarded to the concerned ward officer, who will then ask the contractor who has worked on roads in the area to tackle the problem at once," he said.

Contractors who fail to fill the craters in 24 hours will have to pay a penalty of Rs 1,000 per day for the delay, he added.

Shinde said the helpline was necessary as the current procedure for lodging a complaint about potholes was cumbersome. At present, a citizen has to go to the ward office and submit a letter to the ward officer, who then forwards it to the road engineer of the ward. The engineer then asks the contractor to fill the pothole.

Last year, the civic body filled up 13,200 potholes at a cost of Rs 27 crore but received criticism for the pace of its work. In 2006, there were 43,000 potholes on the city's roads, and BMC spent Rs 21 crore to get rid of them.

This year, the corporation has earmarked Rs 25 crore for repairs of bad patches. According to civic officials, the cost of filling up a 1x1 metre patch is approximately Rs 600.

Tardeo Junction, Lamington Road, Cateria Marg (Mahim) and H L Raheja Marg in Mahim are some areas where the problem of potholes is acute.

Shinde pointed out that the BMC will also do a third-party audit of the work of contractors during monsoon, and those who do shoddy work will have a part of their payment deducted.

Contractors however are unhappy. “We are also human beings. The BMC should not be harsh on us. We hope new carbon technology brought in from South Africa will help us fill up potholes in quick time,” a contractor who did not wish to be named said.

Source - Mumbai News - Mumbai Mirror Online - Dial a pothole, we’ll fill it up in 24 hrs: BMC, COVER STORY, Mumbai News, Mumbai newspaper,Current Affairs,Latest news,Mumbai Directory,City Portal,Mumbai,city,Bombay,destination,Web,Internet ,website,Capital of M

[Sahil]

brilliant idea, but only time will tell its effectiveness

[diabloo]

Spot & Report a pothole and get Rs 1000 !!!

THE POLITICS OF POTHOLES

[khanak]

The roads had become really bad during the monsoon though there has been quite an effort to mend the potholes during the last 2-3 days. The roads are still crap but not as bad as before/

[sammyboy]

Fantastic initiative. Bangalore also needs something like this, and fast.

[iraghava]

I think the more pertinent question here should be, what are they going to repair the potholes with?? If it's a temporary fix then what's the point??

[khanak]

Originally Posted by iraghava

I think the more pertinent question here should be, what are they going to repair the potholes with?? If it's a temporary fix then what's the point??

They've been using those brick tiles used in buildings and for sidewalks. Its a lot better than when they just filled a pothole with stones and would come back a few days later to fill it with tar.

[nipunkul]

if they do this in blr, first phone lines will get clogged, then the roads, because the guys coming in to fill will take most of the road space, seeing how narrow most are!

[normally_crazy]

This news deserves to be in the Official Joke Thread.

[amtak]

The area where I live, if you spot a road, the Municipality should be awarded. I have stopped riding my bike for the last 3 weeks due to the fear of falling on the "road" and being crushed under some big vehicle.

[GTO]

Absolute rubbish! This is nothing but a PR gimmick for all the flack that the BMC is getting for terrible roads. If their commitment is, indeed, in place, why do they need a phone call from us? Let them drive around any part of Mumbai, especially the 'burbs', and they'll encounter more potholes than they can count. On tuesday night, I drove over the newly opened flyover next to the domestic airport. Brand new flyover, my foot.....it had potholes at the very start .