Mumbai:
It's that time of the year which residents of Mumbai dread - wading through waist-deep water and maneuvering pothole-ridden roads during the monsoon. This time, though, things may not be as bad. At least that's what the city's civic body claims.
Over Rs 2,000 crore have been spent only on roads with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claiming that a record number of them have been re-laid and concretised, some for the first time since Independence.
"We had 44,000 potholes. That reduced to about 18,000 last year. This year, I'm sure it will be four figures and not five figures, definitely it will be better," Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas told NDTV.
The BMC also says that better drainage and pumping facilities are in place in areas like Hindmata, Prabhadevi and Parel which are prone to chronic waterlogging during monsoons. "We have taken desilting of the nalas, two more pumping stations will be functional at Dadar, Hindmata circle and Saat Rasta. So all this will have a major impact," Aditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena's youth wing chief, told NDTV.
While the BMC has gone all out to improve the condition of roads, dilapidated buildings remain a major worry with over 540 structures declared as 'very dangerous'.
One such place is Gautam Nagar in Dadar, a BMC-owned colony. Two buildings here have already been demolished and one still stands with support from artificial pillars. The civic body has issued notices asking residents to move out and plans to arrange for alternative accommodation.
"We are scared but we pray to God that everything goes well this monsoon. The government must make all the arrangements before the rain destroys everything," said Umesh Waghela, a resident.
Dhirendra Solanki who has moved to the alternative accommodation says he would have preferred to stay back. "We do not have good transport facilities, they have not even cleared the electricity and water connections," he told NDTV.