'BMC ignored requests for repairing Chandivli road'

The road that caved in at Sangharsh Nagar on Tuesday

Parents of the students studying in Chandivli's Pawar Public School have been requesting the BMC since 2017 to repair the road that caved in on Tuesday, as a similar incident had taken place that year as well.

However, according to them, the civic body never paid heed to their requests. Private vehicles that drop off children at the school used to take the road, but now they would have to do a detour via the Jama Masjid road for the same. Parents are of the opinion that if the civic body had acted on their complaints on time, then this incident could have been avoided.

Sources said the situation would not affect the school buses as they take the route that runs from behind the SRA buildings. As the school was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, the authorities sent a notice to all the parents asking them to take the Jama Masjid road from Thursday if they wished to drop off children in private vehicles.

A message sent out by the Parents Teachers Association read, "All buses and private vans will use the route that school buses take. We also request parents to avail the carpool service whenever possible."

Speaking to mid-day, parent Herald Saldanha said, "In July 2017, a part of the same road had collapsed. Since then we have been trying to fix the problem."

Ginith Diwakar, a bus contractor, who runs 17 buses for the school, said, "It is not possible for buses and private cars to use the same road. First, it will add to the chaos, and secondly, condition of that road is also not very good. Jama Masjid road is the only option until this road is fixed."

Another parent said, "Taking the Jama Masjid road will be a detour. We hope the existing road is repaired soon." A senior teacher said, "It's our priority to encourage parents to avail the school bus service. If that is not possible then they can use carpool service instead of sending their wards in private cars. It will also help reduce the chaos."

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