After being dug up for facilitating new piped gas connections in some housing societies in sector 35 I of Kharghar, the entire road has been rendered ugly and risky for driving, after being shoddily covered up.

Kharghar / Navi Mumbai / Panvel: A few months back, the Mahanagar Gas Ltd. had dug up a long patch of road on the Ganesh Mandir road in sector 35 I, Kharghar, running along the entrance gates of several societies along the road. The digging was to facilitate new connections in some societies in the vicinity.

However, months after the digging, the roads still resemble a sordid state, thanks to the shoddy cover-up by Mahanagar Gas Ltd., or rather, the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. (CIDCO), who is entrusted and apparently, also paid to do so, residents complain.

There have been noticeable issues faced by local residents when moving around the battered road, on or off their vehicles.

S Kapoor, a resident of Maitri Planet NX, complains, “You can see the shoddily covered patch that runs along our societies, right? For one, the road has narrowed down further, after what remains of it owing to the vehicles parked outside. On top of that, the patches are pretty deep and owing to the rains, many vehicles, especially two wheeler, lose their grip while navigating through them.”

It is not just the motorbikes that have been facing a hard time navigating, but also children riding their bicycles and those walking up and down the road to visit the market areas.

Aniket Sharma, a school student, shares, “I have found myself at the verge of falling off my bicycle after losing balance, owing to the unevenness of the road throughout the long rough patch.”

“As bikes and cars run along the road, sometimes roughly, which is yet another problem in the area, cyclists and walkers are left with only the sidelines of the road. The uneven patches, filled with rain water, is a slippery and dangerous terrain for all.”

While these are the issues faced by residents in the immediate vicinity, the problem is deep rooted in the administration, as some residents share.

“International standard infrastructure projects cannot take precedence over basic infrastructure work.”

Jaspal Singh Naol (Jal) – Social Worker and Environmentalist

Social Worker and Environmentalist Jaspal Singh Naol (Jal), who lives in the same vicinity, shares, “Local residents have no clarity on this entire digging activity. They simply keep blaming the gas company for the digging and breaking down of the road. The fact however, is that the Mahanagar Gas Ltd. has entrusted and even said to have paid CIDCO, to carry out covering up or restoring of roads, dug up for laying down of the gas pipes.”

“However, we are all aware of how well CIDCO maintains and restores roads, through their many contractors, who are well known for their shoddy work. The term ThookPatti is synonymous with the quality of work in Navi Mumbai, on a grass root level.”

“International standard infrastructure projects cannot take precedence over basic infrastructure work.”

“To be precise CIDCO is to be blamed for not carrying out qualitative work through their contractors and Mahanagar Gas Ltd. is to be blamed for not following up or monitoring the restoration work,” Naol concludes.