Dear SRA, will you fix your pothole disaster?

Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) chairman Nirmalkumar Deshmukh seems to be least bothered about the hundreds of potholes on a road under their jurisdiction.

Even after this paper has published reports on the 180 potholes on a road near the Milan Subway-SV Road junction in Santacruz, Deshmukh has neither answered calls, nor replied to messages.

This paper had first reported on the disastrous condition of the road some of the potholes measured 3x3 metres and were 10 inches deep.

The whole 500-metre stretch is pockmarked, posing a danger to motorists and pedestrians alike. Some bikers have even fallen off their vehicles owing to the monster potholes.

This repair work, commissioned only after mid-day published a report, will barely last a shower or two and the road will be back to what it was. Pics/Suresh KK

Apathy
The road which passes through Daulat and Rizvi Nagar and connects S V Road to Link Road at Milan Subway junction is under the purview of HDIL, a developer who constructed a building in the area under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme.

Also read: With 180 potholes, this may be Mumbai's worst road

HDIL is supposed to build the road and hand it over to the SRA, whose duty it is to make sure this work is done. However, the builder didn't care enough to even surface the road, until this paper published a scathing report.

The very next day, mounds of tar and stone crush were visible on the road, and a typically temporary patch job began. But, this will barely last a few days and the rains will recreate potholes again on the road.

mid-day's July 23 report

Locals said that in the past, a single spell of rain had laid bare the shoddy repair work. But, the chief culprit of this mess is the SRA and its chief Nirmalkumar Deshmukh, whose callous attitude shows in the fact that he hasn't replied to a single message, or answered a phone call regarding the issue.

mid-day has repeatedly tried getting in touch with him, but to no avail. Ultimately, SRA is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the project and making sure the developer delivers on his promises. If this is how Deshmukh deals with his responsibilities, it is no wonder that the road is in the condition it is.

We also tried contacting HDIL, but its spokesperson was unavailable for comment. When we visited the spot on Thursday, we found that some potholes had been filled with tar, but the layer had not been levelled properly. It must be noted that there are at least 80 potholes still left on this road.