The pothole menace on Mumbai’s roads on Tuesday became a chance for a photo album exchange ceremony for the ruling Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
As BJP MP Kirit Somaiya visited Mumbai’s Mayor Snehal Ambekar on Tuesday with a photo album of potholes, she too gifted him her own photographic evidence of craters on the city’s roads, which are maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), both agencies which work under the State government.
While the BJP is accusing the Sena-dominated civic body of neglecting the city’s roads and promoting corrupt contractors, the Sena chooses to point out lacunae in the maintenance of roads governed by State government-run departments as the BJP is a bigger player there.
Taken aback after the Sena’s unexpected stand of highlighting potholes, Mr. Somaiya, who has been alleging corruption in road construction, said that the primary aim during monsoon was to fill potholes. “Corrupt officials and contractors will not be spared. Potholes will be filled in eight days and an action plan created within the next 15 days,” he said.
Ms. Ambekar went a step further and said that it was peoples’ responsibility too to report potholes. “Due to multiple agencies, it becomes difficult to inform which pothole should be filled by which agency. Every pothole in Mumbai does not come under the jurisdiction of the BMC. People should know where to complain,” she said.
Despite being an annual nuisance during monsoon, the civic body, which has been ruled by the Sena-BJP combine for over 15 years, has not yet found a way to ensure smooth roads. While contractors have been accused of corruption which runs into hundreds of crores of rupees, the small fishes in the game such as BMC engineers have landed behind bars. No major BMC road contractor has faced action yet.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress made the most of the opportunity. Party MLA Nitesh Rane organised a day-long photo exhibition of potholes in the wards of ruling party councillors. “The so-called war between Sena and BJP is an attempt to divert peoples’ attention from the anti-incumbency of ruling parties. At a time when people are suffering, the ruling coalition is using political gimmicks to hide their inefficiency,” said Mr. Rane.
Sandip Deshpande, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) group leader in the BMC, said that the mockery of peoples’ plight by the ruling parties would prove to be costly in the upcoming polls. “They have made it a joke and instead of solving the problem, both are trying to gain political mileage,” he said.
