Mumbai News: Despite Concretisation, City Records 6,758 Potholes Since June; BMC Launches Live Dashboard, Issues Notices

Mumbai: Mumbai’s road concretisation push has not stopped the surge in potholes — 6,758 were reported between June 11 and July 18. Of these, 3,468 complaints came directly from citizens via various platforms, including the ‘My Pothole Quick Fix’ app. The BMC has issued show-cause notices to road engineers in three cases for delays in repairs.

To tackle the pothole menace, the BMC has deployed one sub-engineer each in 227 ward for daily road inspections and to ensure repairs within 48 hours. Besides the application, citizens can also raise their concerns through mediums such as the WhatsApp Chatbot, social media and the BMC's helpline number 1916.

On June 11, it launched the ‘Pothole QuickFix’ mobile app and a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot to streamline citizen complaints. On Friday, the BMC unveiled a live public dashboard, allowing residents to track real-time pothole complaints and resolutions.

As per civic data, the BMC has recorded 6,758 potholes, with 3,468 complaints raised by citizens and 3,297 identified by road engineers. Of these, 2,961 engineer-detected potholes and 3,258 citizen complaints have been resolved.

According to the live dashboard on Friday night: 254 complaints were redirected to other agencies, 938 were marked invalid (non-pothole issues), 46 resolved cases were reopened by citizens, 1,782 complaints were reported in July alone.

A senior civic official, “Over the past six years, the number of potholes has dropped from 92,000 to 32,000. The cost of road repairs has also gone down, which shows that road concretisation has played a major role in reducing potholes across the city.”

This monsoon, Rs 154 crore has been allocated for pothole repairs on roads with asphalt or paver blocks down from Rs. 205 crore last year.

Meanwhile, the BMC has issued show cause notices to six sub-engineers for failing to address pothole complaints promptly in areas like Kherwadi (Bandra), Dharavi T Junction, and Andheri D.N. Road.

Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), said "The notices aim to ensure timely acknowledgment and repair of potholes, minimising risks to public safety." He also noted a significant drop in pothole numbers compared to previous years. The BMC typically uses mastic asphalt to repair potholes, with 8–10 mastic cookers working daily across Mumbai.

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