Pune: 450 complaints of potholed, damaged roads in four days

PUNE: Four days of rainfall starting from Saturday have exposed the poor quality of road work across the city. Thoroughfares from across the city, including arterial ones, have broken down, scattering loose gravel and sprung potholes.
The PMC has logged 450 complaints about potholes and though repairs were carried out by the road department, the length and breadth of the water-filled craters strike fear even in the most experienced of two-wheeler riders and four-wheeler drivers.

Civic officials said that road digging for big ticket projects are damaging the surface leading to deep and wide potholes. On its part, the civic body is filling them up with concrete bricks and rubble. The cold mix asphalt solution used to fill the craters is not effective. Activists said the PMC is not conducting the repairs scientifically, and citizens have to deal with back-breaking potholes wherever they go.
The PMC’s helpline operators said calls are coming from different parts of the city. They include potholes, drainage pipeline bursts and waterlogging. Calls and online complaints are being forwarded by the head office to the respective ward offices.
“The civic administration should make sure that roads are repaired properly. Haphazard solutions are more of a threat,” citizen Kiran Joshi said.
Civic officials said works for 24x7 water supply project are underway and pipelines are being laid for which roads were dug up. Simultaneously, a major improvement in the drainage system is being planned. All the digging for these projects is causing potholes, and they are crippled by limitations to carry out repairs on rainy days which leaves the roads in a bad state, they added.
“The PMC does carry out repairs, but they are makeshift arrangements. Road repairs will be done when there is a dry spell. When it rains, the cold mix used to complete the patchwork may not be of any use for big potholes,” V G Kulkarni, head of PMC’s road department, said.
Vijay Kumbhar of Surajya Sanghshra Samiti, a citizens’ group, said civic officials are not paying attention to the road repairs. “Potholes across the city are filled improperly. Civic officials and contractors are hand-in-glove and their vested interests are leading to poor road construction and repeated repairs,” he said.