Pune: The state public works department has unveiled a new app — Pothole Complaint Redressal System (PCRS) — that puts citizens in the driver’s seat to report road woes . The digital initiative, launched last week, covers a staggering 1.18 lakh km of state highways and comes with a strict 72-hour deadline for officials to fix reported potholes.
“We have received 138 complaints in the first week and have addressed 49 of them,” a senior PWD (public works department) official told TOI. The app has been in the pipeline for months. It was rolled out after rigorous testing by C-DAC on August 21.
Citizens can download the PCRS app from the PWD website to report potholes on roads. The app uses GPS to identify the location and allows users to upload photos of the damaged road. Under the new system, junior engineers must address the complaints within 72 hours, while deputy engineers have 96 hours to submit a final report.
Failure to meet these deadlines could result in the complaint being escalated to the executive engineer-level, with the possibility of show-cause notices for deliberate neglect. The Amravati region has taken the lead with 62 complaints, closely followed by Pune with 58. Other regions like Konkan, Nashik, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar have reported less than five complaints each.
The initiative has received mixed reactions from the public. Mohan Ohol, a frequent traveller, questioned the timing of the launch. “It should have been done in January to e.