Rains take the sheen off city roads and BMC's claims

All roads riddled with potholes following incessant showers over past couple of days

Rains over the past two days have left the citizens both smiling and frowning. They smiled because there could be relief from the water cut imposed on them as the lakes may get replenished, and they frowned for the unending bumps experienced while travelling on city roads.
The showers have called the BMC's bluff of city roads having merely 311 potholes as they have exposed a far greater number. For example, the road leading to Bandra terminus itself accounts for innumerable potholes with the rains making travel worse for commuters.
When asked about the road, a civic road department official merely shrugged by saying that it was the Railways and MMRDA's responsibility. It may well be their responsibility, but with the state of the roads in various parts of the city getting worse, BMC's own responsibility is far from getting over, what with the corporation and its wards already spending 75% of the allotted Rs40 crore for road repair work.
A civic road department official said: "Because of the monsoon condition of roads have become worse. We are waiting for the rains to stop to repair the potholes."
Some commuters had a tough time in getting to their work due to the heavy rains. Shivaji Acharya, an IT professional, said, "I should have been in office by now giving a presentation, but I am still stuck at the bus stop for over half an hour."
Hawkers on the streets too had a bad time. Suraj Chauhan, who has a garment stall at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, remarked: "I cannot put up my stall till the rains stop. Our earnings during monsoon are miserable."
But there were a few who rejoiced the weather despite all odds. "Why complain when we need the monsoon for our water supply. It's indeed a reason to celebrate," said Parul Dhingre. "I am just waiting for an enjoyable evening with jalebis and pakoras."
The rains have given Mumbai a reason to rejoice, said the weather bureau too. "The rainfall has been good in all parts of the city as well as in the catchment over the past two days. Naturally, this is good news in a city that has been riddled with water problem," said Dr RV Sharma, deputy director general, Regional Meteorological Centre, Colaba.
The city received 26.47mm of rains, the eastern suburbs 71mm, and the western suburbs 45mm. There is no plan for cloud seeding this year, said a civic official.