Mumbai: Kandivli residents plant saplings in potholes!

Residents of Charkop Sector 8, Kandivli, are digging themselves out of the bottomless pit of apathy. They planted saplings in potholes in Mahavirnagar yesterday to draw the attention of civic and public works department officials to the growing menace of poor roads as well as take a dig at their ineptitude at fixing them.

Residents of Charkop Sector 8 plant saplings in potholes in Mahavirnagar to draw officials' attention. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The campaign, carried out by Mission Green Mumbai - a Charkop-based group of 29 volunteers that seeks to increase the green cover in the area - saw active participation of locals despite heavy downpour.

This was the second such protest initiative in Charkop Sector 8 over the past week.

Subhajit Mukherjee, a member of the group, said locals see no other way of getting their voices heard. "When they (officials) see plants growing on the roads, maybe it will knock some sense into them. If they are just letting the potholes be, we might as well use the space to grow plants."

A dig at apathy
Claiming that the planting of saplings was not a ‘green initiative', Mukherjee said the aim was to take a dig at officials' apathy. "We want to tell the authorities that this stretch of Mahavirnagar doesn't look like a road anymore. We are trying to make a statement."

Hema Ved, another member of the group, said civic officials had promised locals time and again to repair a long stretch of road in Mahavirnagar after completing construction of a building beside the road. It's been two years since the building was constructed, but the road still lies neglected. "The BMC had promised a vegetable market here. All we have right now is a board of the market and potholes," complained Ved.

She said residents are so put off by the condition of this road that they prefer a longer detour to get to Borivli than a back-breaking journey through this stretch. "This road is a short cut to Borivli. But, it can't be used now."

BMC says
Vinod Tirhekar, BMC assistant engineer, said civic officials have identified all the potholes in the area. "We are waiting for the rains to abate to start repairs."

Practise what they preach
The group had earlier carried out a mass sapling plantation drive in the area, in which they provided locals with over 1,000 plants. "We even planned to encourage residents of our housing society to take to biogas as an alternative source of energy," said Mukherjee.