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Road Development

Minister takes BMC officials on bumpy ride, again

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 10:35 administrator
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Indian Express   11.08.2010

Minister takes BMC officials on bumpy ride, again

Express News Service Tags : pothole on roads, mumbai Posted: Wed Aug 11 2010, 00:05 hrs

 Mumbai:  A fortnight after he took senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials on a bumpy ride over pothole-ridden roads, Mumbai guardian minister Jayant Patil on Tuesday did a repeat to review the condition of the roads and gave his verdict, with displeasure, that there had been no marked improvement.

On July 29, with Patil at the wheel of his Honda City, Additional Municipal Commissioners Ashish Singh, Aseem Gupta and Manisha Mhaiskar were taken on a drive on a stretch of the Marine Drive and back.

The NCP MLA from Islampur had driven on the bad patches so that the officials got a first-hand experience of what he was trying to explain.

Following the ride, BMC had reported that there were 299 potholes in the city and most of them had been closed.

On Tuesday, Patil again drove from Sion to Worli, this time with Aseem Gupta and Deputy Municipal Commissioner Sudhir Naik through some of the major junctions and roads along the route of the Ganesh idol immersion procession. Ganesh festival, which is celebrated with much fanfare in Mumbai, is scheduled in September.

When Patil was asked about the BMC claim that there were 299 potholes in the city, he said there were many more. Patil said the the civic body should undertake work on roads to ensure they are of better quality and new potholes do not appear after old ones are filled.

Patil said though some potholes had indeed been covered, there were several remaining to be filled. He added that the BMC should fill the potholes at the earliest and take steps if necessary to “blacklist” erring contractors.

With no rain seen in Mumbai for the last couple of days, Patil has urged BMC officials to undertake the pothole-filling work urgently before the showers resume. Patil also said the BMC should increase funds allocated for tackling potholed roads from Rs 40 crore to Rs 60 crore.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 10:37
 

BMC picks holes in drum-mix plants

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 10:09 administrator
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The Times of India  11.08.2010

BMC picks holes in drum-mix plants

MUMBAI: Faced with allegations of corruption and nepotism in the way potholes are being repaired in the city, the BMC may initiate action against drum-mix asphalt plants across the city. Since a long time, experts have been recommending the use of batch-mix asphalt plants as opposed to drum-mix, which mixes coarse bitumen and metal aggregates on the basis of volume and not weight.

After officials from the civic roads department visited asphalt plants at Kandivli on Tuesday, the clamour for shutting down drum-mix plants grew louder. The plants were found to be flouting guidelines and producing sub-standard material for the contractors, said officials. The city has as many as 13 recognised drum-mix plants but there are only three batch-mix plants, all of which are out of the city limits.

"In order to find a better way of treating potholes, the plants should make a shift to batch-mix technology. This technology is recognised worldwide because it guarantees proportionate and high quality volume of mix,'' said C E G Justo, member of the BMC-appointed Standard Technical Advisory Committee (STAC).

The BMC officials had earlier accompanied guardian minister Jayant Patil to a road trip and found roads marked with potholes. A day after it claimed that only 299 potholes are remaining to be repaired, the BMC took a decision that all utility services in the `worst affected' areas will be ducted.

"The road trip with the minister was fruitful and it was found that digging by various utilities was causing potholes on the roles. Now, we have decided to duct the utilities on the worst-affected roads,'' said a senior official.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 10:13
 

Risky service road

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 07:15 administrator
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The New Indian Express  11.08.2010

Risky service road

BANGALORE: The Cox Town flyover was opened for the public recently. The flyover, which has the privilege of taking maximum time for completion, is considered as a boon for motorists from Banaswadi and other areas to reach Ulsoor or Shivajinagar. However, the service roads developed by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are not up to the mark.

There is a sharp curve on the service road that connects Maruthiseva Nagar from Cook Town. Motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, are vulnerable to accidents, since a portion of the road is full of potholes. ''I use this service road daily to reach Banaswadi from Cook Town. A two-wheeler rider was injured last week when he lost balance due to potholes,'' said Sebastian, a two-wheeler rider from Cook Town.

As if these potholes are not enough, a tree stem poses danger to motorists. No caution board was put up for the benefit of motorists at this spot. ''It will be better if the BBMP takes measures to fill the potholes,'' said N S Ravi, president, Bharathinagar Residents' Welfare Association.

When contacted, Jayashankar Reddy, Executive Engineer, (Maruthiseva Nagar division), BBMP said that he would depute assistant executive engineer for spot inspection. ''I took up the charge recently. I will take measures to fill up the potholes,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Virupaksha, Assistant Executive Engineer, said that the task of filling up of potholes was assigned to Karnataka Land Army. ''I have informed them about the potholes. I expect them to fill up the potholes immediately,'' Virupaksha said.

When contacted, Shashidhar, Assistant Director, Karnataka Land Army said that a few people had complained about the menace of potholes. ''I will visit the spot tomorrow and take measures to fill up the potholes,'' said Shashidhar.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 07:21
 
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