Auto driver turns potholes into pitfalls for civic body

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), perhaps, will need every pothole in the city to hide its embarrassment. An auto rickshaw driver from Borivli has served a legal notice on the municipal commissioner and the mayor for the pathetic condition of  roads. A copy of the notice has been sent to the Borivli ward officer.

Bharat Mehta, who has been driving auto rickshaw for the past three decades, claimed that the condition of roads this year was worse than the previous years.

“There are crater-sized potholes on some roads. Almost the entire top surface of Factory Lane in Borivli has been washed away,” Mehta said.

In the notice, Mehta has claimed that his vehicle was badly damaged when it hit one of the craters. “While civic officials overlook and underplay the issue, citizens bear the brunt of it. My passengers often complain of banging their heads on the roof of the auto whenever it hits a pothole.”

To add insult to injury, Mehta has attached pictures of some “really bad” stretches on roads like Jambli Gully, Factory Lane, Borivli Market Road and SV Road. “No officer of the BMC is going to pay for the damages auto rickshaw drivers like me suffer because of the bad roads. Similarly, no one will compensate for the injuries suffered by passengers,” he said.

Mehta’s lawyer, Kishor Joshi, said that the state government collects wheel tax from taxpayers. “The tax collected is expected to be used in road work. The sorry state of the roads makes us question how this money is being used.”

Assistant commissioner VD Kamble admitted that there were some “bad patches” on the roads mentioned in Mehta’s notice. “We have plans to repair these stretches, but are waiting for a dry spell. It is difficult to carry out repair work when it is raining.”
Kamble added that he had not gone through the contents of the notice.

Joshi demanded that the potholes be filled up immediately. “The roads department of the BMC has claimed that potholes are filled up within 24 hours of being brought to notice. We have informed the civic body about some of these potholes. Let us see how promptly it acts.” He warned that if corrective measures were not taken soon, his client would move court.

The BMC has set aside Rs40crore this year for repairing potholes. Earlier too, civic bigwigs have been dragged to court for the pothole menace. In 2005, the Bombay high court converted a written complaint, filed by cardiologist Sandeep Rane, into a suo motu writ petition.