Nagpur: Marc-ing potholes and filling them up

NAGPUR: City NGO MARC, which is involved in creating awareness on road accidents in the district, has taken up repair of uneven patches of cement roads in the city, especially in the South-West Assembly constituency. This even as road construction agencies are not repairing tar roads and cement roads are developing cracks.
Traffic activist and founder president of ROAD MARC (Road Accident Disaster Management and Research Centre) Raju Wagh says that potholes and uneven roads are causing minor mishaps at several locations like Sambhaji Chowk on Hingna Ring Road and Nagoba Mandir near IT Park.
“The potholes not only produce bumpy rides but are also dangerous, deadly and in need of urgent attention,” he told TOI.
After getting no response from the concerned government organisations, Wagh and his team comprising Nitin Mahajan, Baban Divyevar and Atul Indane filled a pit with concrete purchased with the participation of the people like Umrao Bobade, Atharva Kathote and local citizens. Wagh said the motto of his NGO is repairing roads to save lives.
Marc is the third NGO to take up repairing of potholes. In 2019, armed with a concrete-mixer truck and a list of pothole-ridden roads, provided by Nagpur city traffic police, Janmanch had repaired at least 100 potholes.
Another NGO — Janhit — too had repaired potholes in Surendragadh. The NGO, led by its founder president Abhijit Jha, had made several complaints to the NMC and local corporators regarding pothole-ridden roads but nothing happened. Later, with the help of senior citizens, the NGO not only repaired potholes but also covered many open stormwater and drainage networks.
Wagh urged citizens to report potholes to concerned agencies or fix them with public participation. “If anyone needs guidance, they can contact me (9096659792),” he said.