Lindsay Pereira: When in doubt, build a bridge

Despite huge investments on infra development, we get roads that are responsible for unending traffic woes. Representation pic

Congratulations on your ability to read this. It means you have survived another July, despite the BMC's continual presence in our city. If you're lucky, you may be around to read next week's column, too. A few of our fellow citizens didn't make it, unfortunately, some falling victim to potholed roads, others to the routine dangers that plague every corner of our badly managed city.

The good news is, the people masquerading as experts in our corridors of bureaucracy have hit upon a new solution to traffic woes. The lucky corner this time is Mahalaxmi station, for no fault of the people who live there. A brilliant plan that has just been proposed involves the construction of two overbridges at Saat Rasta for ‘direct connectivity' to Worli Naka and Haji Ali junction. If you haven't visited this busy area, I advise you to set off right away, so you can make it there and back in time for Monday's edition of this newspaper.

These bridges, apparently, will be constructed at a cost of R100 crore in two years, after the BMC gets an all-clear from the Railways because one of the bridges will run parallel to the Mahalakshmi station bridge. This figure will be valid for this week, of course, and magically evolve, like something with a life of its own, by the time this amazing project gets off the ground. An engineer from the BMC believes these proposed bridges will ‘reduce travel time' for people in the area.

There is an undeniable need for infrastructure, of course, and the BMC has reportedly based its proposal on suggestions from IIT Bombay after the latter conducted a study on traffic circulation. What's amusing is how projects that involve large sums of money are always recommended first, when so much can be done to make things work now with current resources. No one ever proposes solutions that involve common sense, when it comes to managing traffic.

No one ever suggests using resources to crack down on abandoned vehicles, obvious encroachment and avoidable congestion outside every single one of our railway stations, because someone, somewhere gets paid to allow these illegalities to flourish. Where do these figures come from? Rs 100 crore for two bridges, R150 crores on the upkeep of gardens, R10 crores to fix a couple of private roads? Between 2011 and 2016 alone, the BMC spent R11,000 crore for the repair and reconstruction of roads. It was given an additional R5,183 crore for 2016-17. And yet, despite sinking in the kind of money that would keep a small country afloat, we have roads that are constantly and consistently responsible for our unending traffic woes. It doesn't take any special intelligence to point out that functioning, open roads that aren't encroached upon can ensure a smoother flow of traffic.

Bridges are built in Mumbai all the time, all of them uniformly shoddy. It's what happens after they are thrown open that matters, too. New infrastructure inadvertently or inevitably causes damage to current infrastructure, which then leads to further proposals and additional requests for funds. It's like an endless joke played at our expense alone, as our taxes vanish down a gaping maw with no accountability whatsoever.

Think about the number of people who have lost their lives travelling on our roads, for no fault of their own. The paver blocks that have damaged vehicles, injured people for years, and destroyed families, all because the BMC chooses to make decisions based on what contractors get paid rather than what qualified experts ask it to do. When was the last time you walked or drove down an existing bridge in the city that functioned the way it was supposed to and looked as if it had been built to last? This is an organisation that can barely manage a simple paint job efficiently.

Here's something else to consider. Earlier this week, the Chief Minister informed the Legislative Assembly that the number of potholes in Mumbai had come down drastically due to measures adopted by the BMC. Areas under the BMC had only 4,044 potholes this year, apparently, compared to 14,455 in 2014-15. Think of all the taxes you have paid the BMC, for all these years, and ask yourself if 4,044 potholes are a few thousand potholes too many.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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