A 45-year-old man from Thane put up a board to alert motorists of a portion of the Gurudwara service road that caved in eight feet deep in Thane’s Naupada locality on Monday morning.
Rahul Pingle, who lives in the area, placed a banner next to the caved-in part of the road so that motorists don’t fall into it and lead to accidents.
“Initially, it looked like a pothole but when I checked and removed the debris, it appeared to be a deep hole. I realised that the part of the road has caved in by eight feet. It is very risky for motorists taking that stretch. Hence, I decided to at least put up a banner alerting the motorists and pedestrians.
“When I checked with the authorities, it was revealed that there was a closed drainage chamber under the road that was covered during asphalting work. They did not level up the chamber to the road. Now, during rains, the asphalt portion washed away and a pothole was developed,” he added.
Pingle also alerted about other potholes in the area to the authorities. “There are several potholes on the road over bridge located near the service road. This particular stretch is used by most VIPs and no one has highlighted its bad state,” added Pingle.
Motorists taking the stretch also complained of the bad state of the road. “Anybody could fall into the pothole and lose their lives. There are many such deadly patches on the roads across Thane that we deal with daily,” said Ashok Verma, 39, a motorist.
The concerned officer, when asked, said,” As soon as we came to know about the condition of the road, our staff were alerted and the repair work was taken up. The caved-in portion has been covered without further delay.”
