The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has claimed that its roads are free of potholes.
The residents, though, have a different story to tell. They have claimed that while the prime highways are in a better condition, the internal roads are in a bad state.
Following a two-day survey of roads by NMMC engineers, the civic body claimed that the issue of potholes is restricted to only 14 locations in the city. These include six patches on the Thane-Belapur Road, Turbhe, two locations on the Ghansoli flyover, two locations in Vashi and some areas along the Koparkhairane flyover.
Sanjay Desai, city engineer, said, “We drove through various parts of the city to identify the areas with potholes. It can be conveniently said that both Nerul and Belapur roads have no potholes. Only 14 locations were identified to be having potholes and contractors were instructed to undertake repair work on these patches immediately.”
NMMC spends ₹33Cr annually on road repairs. Desai claimed that since most roads in Navi Mumbai are concretised, the issue of potholes is less prevalent. NMMC has spent ₹200Cr to concretise roads in Digha, roads connecting Uran Phata and Turbhe police station.
Repairs were undertaken late in the night on Thursday at the 14 locations and potholes in six locations were filled.
Residents, however, have slammed the NMMC for calling the city pothole-free. “I personally went around the city and have found that there are a lot of interior roads that have potholes. It has potholes. The road leading to Nerul’s Jewel of Navi Mumbai Park is totally uneven; the end of Palm Beach Road towards Vashi is in a bad condition and so also is the state of the underpass leading to Vashigaon from Sector 6. The commissioner should conduct such visits along with citizens,” said Rohit Malhotra, Vashi resident.
Another resident, Haresh Makhwana of Sanpada, added, “NMMC appears to have not taken into account the condition of various internal roads. The road leading to Sanpada village Sector 5 needs repair work. Recently, I went to Shaneeshwara temple in Nerul Sector 11. The roads have potholes. Certainly, when compared to Mumbai, our roads are far better but to claim it is free of potholes appears to be far-fetched.”