Mumbai News: Over 7,600 Pothole Complaints Filed Since June, S Ward Worst-Hit; BMC Yet To Resolve 1,178 Cases

Mumbai: Mumbai’s pothole woes continue to rise, with 7,675 complaints recorded on the BMC’s portal since June. In a worrying spike, 354 complaints have been registered in just the past 48 hours. The BMC claims to have resolved 6,498 complaints by Saturday evening. However, work remains pending on 1,178 pothole complaints. In comparison, the same period last year saw 6,500 complaints.

S Ward (Powai-Bhandup) Records Highest Pothole Count at 1,499

According to civic data, the S ward which covers Powai and Bhandup has emerged as the worst-affected, recording 1,499 complaints in two months. Of these, only 847 have been resolved as of August 2, leaving 652 potholes still unattended.

K-West and T Wards Also Report High Pothole Incidence

The K-West ward, which includes Andheri, Juhu, and Oshiwara, has reported 721 complaints, with 657 addressed and 64 pending. In T ward (Mulund), 655 pothole complaints have been received, of which 425 have been resolved, while 230 remain unresolved.

Adding to the deluge of complaints, the BMC received 204 new pothole complaints on Saturday alone, as per evening data. Officials claim that out of the total complaints, 1,871 were unrelated to potholes, 544 were under the jurisdiction of other agencies, and 81 were reopened complaints.

BMC Blames Monsoon Damage, Asphalt Roads for Spike in Complaints

A senior BMC official attributed the bulk of the complaints to asphalt and paver block roads, which are more susceptible to wear during monsoons. “Most of these complaints are from asphalt or paver block roads, which the civic body is fixing using mastic. In 2024, we used around 25,632 metric tonnes of mastic for repairs and pre-monsoon maintenance. This year, however, only 35 to 40% of that quantity has been used so far. The deployment of mastic cookers used for pothole repairs has also declined, with a daily peak of 33 in 2024 compared to just 24 this year."

Civic Activists Question Effectiveness of Road Concretisation Drive

However, Godfrey Pimenta, founder of Watchdog Foundation and resident of Andheri said, "Despite BMC’s massive road concretisation drive in Mumbai, the pothole crisis shows no signs of abating. Such persistently high figures strongly suggest that the concretisation drive is failing its main objective of making roads pothole free."

Each of BMC’s 227 wards has a designated road engineer tasked with inspecting a 10–15 km stretch daily and resolving pothole complaints within 24–48 hours. Citizens can report issues via social media, the disaster management helpline, or the ‘My Pothole Quick Fix’ app.

BMC Allocates ₹154 Cr for Repairs This Year, Down from ₹205 Cr in 2024

For asphalt and paver-block roads yet to be concretised, the BMC has allocated Rs 154 crore for repairs this year, down from Rs 205 crore last year. Of Mumbai’s 2,050 km road network, 1,333 km are already concretised. The remaining 700 km will be upgraded under a Rs 17,000 crore mega project — with 320 km (700 roads) covered in Phase I and 378 km (1,421 roads) in Phase II.