Pune: The civic body started a special drive to fix potholes and claims to have corrected over 1,224 craters over three nights, but this has not impressed citizens who criticised the work and questioned washing away of the roads in the first place. Pune Municipal Corporation ( PMC ) officials said the action was in response to citizens’ complaints, a meeting with MP Murlidhar Mohol and the police department raising the issue. Head of PMC’s road department Aniruddha Pawaskar said different govt agencies and various PMC departments conduct excavation works to provide proper infrastructure to citizens.
This often damages roads in myriad ways. “The continuation of infrastructure work and incessant rains over many days has led to large potholes appearing on asphalt roads. Additionally, it has been difficult to fill craters since the rain has not taken a break for more than two weeks,” he said.
Pawaskar said that since it did not rain on Saturday night, the road department immediately started to fill potholes and continued it through Sunday and Monday nights. The focus was to fill potholes and do the patchwork required with concrete (cement) and asphalt. However, experts and citizen activists questioned the claims and quality of road repairs.
Sanjay Shitole of citizens group Pune City Eye said PMC should find a permanent solution to the recurring problem. “There is no system to monitor appearance of potholes and condition of roads, and PMC should use drones to do the needful.” Mukundnagar resident Seema Mantri said patches get damaged within a day or two of repair work.
“There is more harm caused. Gravel comes loose and may lead to major accidents.” Kothrud residents said spots like Mahatma society and Kothrud depot were infested with potholes.
Yogesh Nandkar, a local resident, said, “PMC’s work hardly shows. The roads are all pothole-ridden and accident-prone.” Bhakti Joshi said despite repeated repairs, roads connecting Bavdhan and Pashan as well as the bylanes in the neighbourhood had not improved.
“Potholes resurface within days of repairs. It is a wastage of taxpayers’ money,” she said. According to PMC data, 478 potholes were filled on Saturday between 10pm and 6am.
As many as 419 and 327 potholes were filled on Sunday and Monday nights, respectively. We also published the following articles recently Crater Crisis: NMCs Special Team To Inspect Cement Roads To Fix Potholes The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) formed a special team to inspect and study potholes on cement concrete roads following high court orders. The team aimed to address issues caused by utility installations and improve road conditions by strictly enforcing no objection certificates for all road digging activities within its jurisdiction.
Slushy, pothole-ridden roads affect functioning of Gamanagatti Industrial Estate The Gamanagatti Industrial Estate in Hubballi faced severe transportation issues due to deteriorated roads, filled with deep potholes. Industrialists struggled with vehicle delays and workers' safety. Despite proposals for repairs, the situation remained dire.
Industrialists resorted to picking up employees in their cars as two-wheelers became unsafe for commuting. Netizens to govt: Fill potholes in Bengaluru first, tunnel roads can wait The proposal to build an 8.6 km-long tunnel road between Esteem Mall in Hebbal and Silk Board Junction in Bengaluru, costing Rs 12,690 crore, has sparked opposition.
Critics argue that the project overlooks public transport and existing road maintenance, potentially worsening congestion..
