How about linking corporators’ work with potholes?

Potholes at Kamathipura junction near Nagpada. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Let us take a new approach to potholes even as the civic authorities and citizens spar over how many craters are found on our roads.

While the BMC said there were just over 500 across Mumbai, citizens scoffed and many stated that they could point out at least 500 in one area alone.

The finger pointing, absolving of blame, passing the buck game goes on as the pothole pain is back with a vengeance.

Let us look at this differently. We do not concentrate or spar with the BMC on the number of potholes. This will once again be hugely debatable and it is a tussle which frankly goes nowhere.

Instead, let us look at numbers in another way. How many days does it take our leaders to address this problem? Just how much time before a particular road is fixed. If a persistent and well-guided person can tell us, it will be good to know, just how much has been spent on repairing a particular road. Then, see if it falls apart again and take cognisance of an important number, the amount of taxes that have gone to waste because of shoddy work.

We need too, another yardstick, rather than simply saying these are the number of potholes found this year. Another number to concentrate on the matter, is how many times, even if it is in the recent past, has a particular stretch been repaired?

Which corporator took heed of a road in disrepair and actually helped the locals to get their grievances heard? Did the corporator use his or her influence to seek answers and actions? Or simply paid lip service to the problem and then vamoosed? There is too much stress on altercations about pothole numbers, let us not miss the other vital aspects, as these count too.