One week into Mumbai monsoon, it's raining potholes

mid-day takes a survey of city roads and finds that despite claims of Mumbai roads being monsoon-ready, roads across the city are ridden with potholes after just a week of rains

Just a week into the monsoon season, Mumbai roads are already riddled with potholes — 165 of them, by the BMC’s own count. While the civic body claims it has already dealt with a majority of these craters, mid-day spotted several pockmarked roads across the city.

Granted, the pothole menace has reduced over the years — just three years ago, the city had recorded as many as 42,000 potholes.

Following a PIL in the high court, however, the number has been shrinking every year, and finally came down to 6,000 last year. However, for all of BMC’s claims of making the roads monsoon ready, this reporter found the reality is very different. Potholes have mushroomed across the city; western suburbs like Malad and Andheri got the worst of it, while the eastern suburbs reported comparatively fewer potholes.

When mid-day contacted BMC’s chief engineer (roads) Sanjay Darade, he refused to comment on the matter.

Malad
Potholes have already started to hold up traffic and cause serious inconvenience to motorists crossing the busy junction of SV Road and Marve Road in Malad. This crucial junction serves traffic going towards Goregaon, Kandivli and towards the local railway station, but with large craters taking over the road, vehicles can get stuck for as long as 20 minutes here. Pic/Satej Shinde

Dr Ambedkar Road
Those going from the eastern suburbs to south Mumbai also face a rough ride, with the important Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road now riddled with potholes.

Juhu
mid-day also spotted potholes at Juhu circle and Juhu-Vile Parle Development (JVPD) Scheme, like this one near the JVPD bus depot. Not only does this cavity make for a bumpy ride for motorists, but it has also exposed utility pipes, making way for more problems in the future. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

Ghatkopar
In the east, LBS Marg is also pockmarked with large craters, causing problems for motorists and pedestrians alike. With puddles collecting inside the potholes, it gets even harder to gauge the depth of the cavity. Vehicles passing from Ghatkopar to Sion and back face a particularly bumpy ride at the Gangawadi junction. Pic/Sameer Markande

Matunga
Potholes appear in the posh Five Gardens area and at other spots such as Khalsa college. Even the tony Five Gardens area has fallen victim to the pothole menace, along with several other areas in Matunga, such as Nathalal Parekh Marg, Bhimani Street, Telang Road. Pic/Suresh Karkera

SV Road
Motorists were seen dodging potholes and even the police had a tough time managing the traffic with potholes marring SV Road at the Bandra-Mahim junction (seen above) and near Andheri station. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

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