Need to end the pothole menace once and for all

Potholes on the Airoli-end of the Mulund-Airoli bridge. Pic/Sameer Markande

Navratri is around the corner and during the nine-day festival, with different colours denoting each day, we see women, and a few men too, rather festively adhering to the ‘Navratri colour code' ensuring they wear the colour on that day.

Now, in a not so bright twist, activists have decided that they will ‘colour' potholes in the city in the colours of Navratri to shame the civic body into repairing our roads and bring an end to the pothole problem.

September has seen a rain resurgence and our roads seem to have fallen apart once again, several patches have deep craters, with authorities stating that they are awaiting a dry day to repair certain patches.

There have been numerous instances of individuals and organisations working on shaming civic authorities so that they find a permanent panacea to the problem. From people pretending to ride a boat in a pothole, reporters and cartoonists sketching a diving board at the edge of a crater, citizens pretending they are playing golf on our roads with rain-filled potholes as if these are the water hazards like they have on the golf course.

There have been posters and signages also put up at times to ridicule those in charge about potholes. The craters on the moon and potholes on Mumbai roads analogy has worn thin with overuse and now does not even raise a laugh.

Sometimes, the shaming takes a more serious and tragic turn with family members of those who have lost their loved one in an accident, pointing to potholes on the roads and calling out our leaders. The authorities have, on their side, asked citizens to flag the potholes and there is a complaint number. Yet strangely and for years, this problem crops up and simply refuses to go away, even if every tactic in the book has been used.

Let us spell the end now to potholes that go the entire gamut - from irritant, to injurious and at times killer cavities.