Stung IRB starts fixing potholes in Thane

IRB officials started resurfacing roads on Friday;

Following news reports of the pothole menace across Thane district, the Infrastructure Developers Limited (IRB) is now racing to get potholes in its jurisdiction filled. IRB is one of the main toll collecting agencies in the Thane region and is responsible for a limited stretch of roads.

Workers were seen filling potholes and surfacing some stretches of the Ghodbunder road in Thane Friday morning. Locals said they cleared all the mud and stones inside the potholes before filling them up for surfacing. Some Thane residents had recently protested in this area against the huge number of potholes on Ghodbunder road.

IRB officials ordered surfacing of the roads after media reports slammed government bodies for the pathetic road conditions

mid-day has consistently reported about the issue here and at several other places in Kalyan, Dombivli too. IRB officials on Friday directed workers to clear all small stones and mud lying on the edges of the road. This was a matter of concern since it would cause accidents. The IRB team is using tar along with concrete material to repair the roads.

Thane Citizen Forum member Kasber Augustine said, "We've been continually requesting officials to fill the potholes and clear the roads of the gravel scattered all over but no one acted upon it." "After mid-day joined the fight, Thane IRB acted swiftly and started filling the potholes across Thane city. We have requested them to use superior quality of materials," she said. IRB manager, Thane, was unavailable for comment.

Dangerous quick-fix

When complaints of potholes first came in from across Thane, Kalyan and Dombivli, authorities had used a quick-fix which meant using heaps of gravel and no tar. This mix ended up throwing up gravel and pebbles on the road, further worsening the problem and also leading to potholes resurfacing on the stretches. The MSRDC was also criticised for using paver blocks to fill potholes on bridges/flyovers in Thane, which were not fixed uniformly.

Residents protest

Fed up of the menace, residents of Thane held silent protests even as civic authorities maintained that the work of filling potholes on roads was affected by rain and waterlogging.

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