Mumbai: Caved-in paver blocks claims another senior victim

The sunken paver block on the footpath near Worli Naka

May 11 seemed like any other day to Zubaida Ahmed (72) when she set out on her routine walk. But, just as the diabetic patient set foot on the footpath abutting her building at Worli Naka, the ground beneath her feet nearly gave way. Ahmed lost her balance on sunken paver blocks and sustained injuries. Her family and neighbours had to carry her back home.

"I was out on my routine walk, but the moment I stepped on a paver block, I lost balance and fell down. My right hand was injured and started bleeding. I sustained injuries to a leg, too. Since I'm diabetic, the injuries took too long to heal," says Ahmed.

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A fortnight since the mishap, she is still scared to venture out on her own. "The BMC should immediately repair this patch. So many people use the footpath. I have stopped going for my walks as I fear that I would fall again," she says.

Ahmed's daughter, Sham­sh­ad, worries that the lack of exercise will worsen her health condition. "The doctor has advised daily walks to keep diabetes in check, but she refuses to go out."

BMC sitting on plaints
At a time when the BMC is making grand promises of turning the city pedestrian-friendly -- it featured on the budget for two consecutive years -- the elderly woman's nasty fall highlights the blind spots in the civic body's plan. A policy on this BMC plan was being drafted in December last year, but it's still nowhere near fruition. Also, it was only a few months ago that BMC chief Ajoy Mehta had raised concerns over the deplorable condition of footpaths in the city and had admitted that he was not able to take his parents out for walks owing to it. Mehta had directed his officials to keep pavements shipshape, but the order doesn't seem to have trickled down to ward officers.

After Ahmed's mishap, several complaints about the footpath were raised with the local ward (G-South) office, but no action has been initiated yet.

ALSO READ: BMC plans to replace paver blocks with asphalt to ensure smoother ride for Mumbaikars

Local Yuva Sena leader Abhijit Patil, who took up the cudgels on behalf of residents 10 days ago, slams the BMC's lackadaisical approach to the problem. "It seems to be waiting for a bigger disaster to happen."

He says the paver block has sunk owing to a stormwater drain below. "It keeps sinking more and more. I have complained about this to the ward office, but officials are turning a blind eye to the issue." Patil also questions the civic body's claim of monsoon preparedness. "It says it is ready for the rains, but that's only on paper."

Dug up for trench
Sources say the footpath was dug up three months ago for a trench to lay utility cables, but workers did a hack job while laying the paver blocks back on the stretch. "When I enquired with some civic officials, they squarely blamed the trench work," says Patil.

The local youth leader also raises doubts over the quality of paver blocks along the Worli footpath. "New paver blocks were laid on the pavement just six months ago, by the civic authorities. Now, quite a few patches have opened up. This clearly points to poor quality of work done by them."

Prashant Sapkale, assistant municipal commissioner of G-South, tells mid-day that remedial measures will be taken immediately. "I will make sure that the stretch is repaired as soon as possible."