BMC claims in High Court that potholes weren't behind death of 21-year-old on JJ flyover or cop's injuries after he fell trying to avoid 5-ft pothole and Justice Kanade's back pain
Trust the BMC to come up with innovative reasons for defending itself when it comes to the city's potholes. The civic body submitted in the Bombay High Court yesterday that media reports on the potholes and the condition of roads in the city are malicious and meant to humiliate its engineers and officers.
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The media reports
Ruju Thakker, one of the interveners in the petition on potholes pointed out to a bench of justices Shantanu Kemkar and Justice Makrand Karnik about the September 26 case of 21-year-old Rizwan Khan who died after his bike skid on JJ flyover due to a pothole and another case on October 18 where a police inspector fell because of a pothole in Andheri.
August 10 report on Justice Kanade telling HC about the backache that he suffered due to potholes in his commute
Thakker also mentioned the August 10 report regarding senior justice Vidyadhar Kanade having sleepless nights after suffering from back pain due to potholes during his commute from Borivali to Churchgate in his car.
BMC not to blame
Responding to this, BMC counsel Anil Sakhare argued that the reports are wrong. Referring to Justice Kanade's experience, he said the suspension of old government cars are not up to the mark and that was one of the reasons why senior government officials were getting troubled in their commute. Speaking on Khan's death, the counsel said a manhole was kept open in the area, which was causing trouble for several people. The BMC had nothing to do with it, he claimed.
September 29 report on 21-year-old Rizwan Khan, who died after he bike hit a pothole on JJ flyover
Sakhare said, "The JJ incident and all other incidents were only reported in the media and nobody verified them, but if the intervener feels they happened and needs a reply from BMC on the same, she should put it on an affidavit and not make oral submissions like this."
October 18 report on a cop getting injured avoiding a massive pothole on the Western Express Highway
Sakhare also claimed that the reports appearing in the media about potholes were filed with malicious intentions. The officers were facing problems and embarrassment due to it. Certain politicians and journalists were behind it, he claimed.
Potholes fixed by Oct end
Sakhare also told the bench that by the end of this month, most of the issues relating to potholes would be sorted out, as BMC was repairing the roads on war footing, he claimed. Justice Kemkar and Karnik have kept the matter for October 25 for directions to the BMC on the issue of potholes.
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