In a rush to finish work within the given deadline, a contractor reconstructed a road without shifting the vehicles parked on it
The ‘reconstructed’ stretch of road at Jogeshwari East. Pic/Anurag Ahire
How do you reconstruct a pavement that has illegal vehicles parked on it? You just build a road around it. That’s what a Metro 7 project contractor seems to have done when he was roped in to fix a stretch of road at Jogeshwari East. Although the BMC got trolled for what looked like an art installation, it later emerged that the road is under the PWD, and that the shoddy work was done by a contractor appointed by the Metro-7 project.
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The work for the metro line from Andheri East to Dahisar East, parallel to the Western Express Highway, has been going on for years. The construction work is now in the final stage and the roads which were taken over for the project are undergoing repair. One such pavement is the service road adjacent to the Western Express Highway at Jogeshwari East.
Dotted by abandoned vehicles, the footpath was rarely used by pedestrians, say locals. “The contractor, who was appointed for the reconstruction of the footpath, completed the work a week ago, but without removing the vehicles on it,” said a resident. The photo was uploaded on social media on Friday evening and within minutes, the BMC started getting trolled for the “amazing” work. When mid-day inquired with the local ward (K East) office, Prashant Sapkale, assistant commissioner, said that the road is under the PWD. “It has nothing to do with the BMC,” he clarified. A senior official from the MMRDA admitted the mistake. He said, “The work was allotted to a contractor. Many vehicles are abandoned on roads and sometimes, removing them creates unnecessary issues at the site. However, the contractor should have applied his mind.” He added that now, they are removing the vehicles and the footpath should be ready by Monday.
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