Kolhapur roads in poor condition ahead of Ganeshotsav

Kolhapur: With only a day left for Ganapati's arrival, the condition of roads in Kolhapur city remains poor, with thousands of potholes on most stretches.Although the civic officials had repeatedly assured that all the roads would be repaired before Ganesh's arrival, not even 20% of the road repair work was carried out. The patchwork done by the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has been washed away in the rain due to the poor quality of work.The Ganesh mandals, which bring large-sized idols, have raised concerns over the poor quality of the roads. Ranveer Patil, a member of Arjun Mitra Mandal, said, "Our 18ft idol was brought from Bapat Camp Kumbhar Galli to the Shanivar Peth area on Sunday. The condition of roads is pathetic across the city, and we faced extreme inconvenience while taking the idol home due to potholes. Several creative and delicate Ganesh idols will be taken to pandals over the next two days. Who will be held responsible if anything happens to the idols on the way? Why can't KMC carry out proper road repairs?"A KMC town planning official, on the condition of anonymity, said, "KMC has started the patchwork. Due to floods and heavy rain, there were some hindrances in carrying out full-fledged work, but the works are being carried out on a war footing now."