29 April,2011 07:43 AM IST | | Rinkita Gurav
The city's municipal body, always in the line of fire for ill-maintained roads, has now turned instructor to the impressed Bihar Public Works Departmen
It is a well-known fact that the BMC is always fielding queries and complaints about the utter disrepair of the Mumbai roads. In spite of continuously receiving flak from citizens for the potholes riddling its roads, the engineers from the Roads Department have been imparting words of wisdom to the Bihar Public Works Department (PWD), on road repairing techniques. Experts, however, are of the opinion that they should be paying attention to the uneven topography of Mumbai, instead of turning mentor to others. Expert speak N V Merani, chairperson of the standing technical advisory committee (roads), has been giving recommendations and guidance to the BMC about various techniques since 2004.
Showing the way: Although seen as a positive step, experts say that
BMC has a lot to do to improve the city's roads itself.
He said, "I have not heard about the proposals for lessons that have come in from the Bihar PWD department. Although it is a positive thing to help out others, our own roads are in a bad condition. The concrete roads are just about fine, but the potholes have not disappeared from the streets. This is not only because of the materials used, but also because of loopholes in management of work undertaken by the department."
He further added that the body often failed to carry out work in accordance with Indian Road Congress (IRC) norms and Standing Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) recommendations. "Nowhere in the city have I seen the ultra-white thin topping treatment, which the Bihar PWD department appears to be impressed by," he said.
In December, officials from Bihar's PWD department had come down to the city to observe the techniques adopted by the BMC. They were so impressed that they invited an engineer from the BMC's Roads Department to offer them tips.
Officials revealed that the method that won their particular admiration involved layering the existing hot-mix asphalt used in road-paving with a high-performance concrete layer of 100 mm thickness, at least 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than usual technology. Jitendra Gupta, transport expert and member of the citizens transport committee, opined that there is nothing in particular that is impressive about the city's roads, with the exception of the flyovers and the concrete roads.
He said, "There are potholes seen every year on so many roads. This is an indication of the slip-shod work done on the roads, owing to the lack of monitoring by the BMC. Besides, there is continuous digging on the roads so that utility lines can be placed. This adds to the difficulties faced by commuters on the roads. The duct system is also faulty. All in all, there is nothing much to boast about in the city roads. The only exceptions are the concrete roads, which are more resistant than the tar ones."
He added, "The patchwork or filling is not competently done at all. The contractors often violate IRC norms, leaving the work mid-way and going off on holiday. It has happened several times." He further added that the flyovers had been rendered completely ineffectual by the tremendous increase in traffic. Repeated attempts to get in touch with Aseem Gupta, BMC's additional municipal commissioner, yielded no results.
What impressed the Bihar officials?
BMC officials revealed that the method that won Bihar PWD's particular admiration involved layering the existing hot-mix asphalt used in road-paving with a high-performance concrete layer of 100 mm thickness. This is at least 15 to 20 per cent cheaper than usual technology.
