Mumbai has seen 150% rise in potholes in last 10 years

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Years of tall promises and regime changes have borne no fruit yet. Mumbaikars still brave puddles and potholes every monsoon. In fact, the last 10 years (period between 2009 to 2014 and 2014 to 2019) have seen a 150% rise in the number of potholes on city streets.

For instance, BMC’s mobile application -- MCGM 24x7 –received more than 1,000 pothole-related complaints within a month this year (between June 10 and July 9).

According to data provided by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbaikars had reported 7,775 potholes in the period between 2009 and 2014, as against 19,597 complaints between 2014 and 2019.

As per a Hindustan Times report, in the last period, south Mumbai recorded 985 potholes, which rose to 2,057 in the current period.

The sudden increase in the number of potholes started in 2016. There were 27,372 potholes spotted in the past decade, of which 15,760 were reported in the last three years.

From around 1,000 to 2,000 potholes being reported every year between 2009 and 2015, the number jolted upwards to 6,827 in 2016-17, and 3,976 in the following year, and 4,957 between 2018 and 2019.

Notably, all these potholes were reported by the citizens of Mumbai to the civic body through BMC’s official website, mobile applications, social media handle and helpline number.

However, these are exclusive of the potholes riddling the Western and Eastern Express Highways, as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) looks after their upkeep.

A civic body official believes that the number of potholes being reported has only increased due to “rise in awareness and digital push”. In the past, one had to visit the respective BMC wards or write to them to register complaints, but now these are just one click away.

Commenting on the grim situation, civic activist Nikhil Desai said, “The BMC has no idea about the actual number of potholes in the city.”

He added that authorities only make the roads motorable when they receive complaints; the potholes are not filled up in a scientific manner, thus worsening the condition of the roads year on year.