Potholes in Kalyan-Dombivli trouble commuters despite road repairs

Despite a Rs 65 crore investment in road repair works in Kalyan-Dombivli over the last five years, motorists continue to complain about bumpy rides caused by potholes every monsoon. The complaints reveal that the situation remains intact as the same roads develop potholes every year during the monsoon. The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) explains that the potholes in the city are caused by a variety of factors like -- climatic conditions, a lack of funds for regular road resurfacing, a lack of stormwater drainage systems along the roads, encroachments, and the city's ever-increasing vehicle movement. Every year, several roads in Kalyan-Dombivli develop potholes, including Haji Malang Road to Chetna School, Chakkinaka Road to Nandivli Village, Katemanivali, Vitthalwadi Cemetery, and Chinchpada Road in Kalyan (E), as well as Gandhari Road, Wadeghar, Parnaka, and Tilak Chowk to Shankar Rao Chowk (W). Some roads in KDMC cover 480 km, with 450 km of asphalt roads and 30 km of cemented concrete roads. Resurfacing and strengthening of the roads is required every four to five years, but this is not done on all roads due to a lack of funds. As a result, annual road repairs are performed instead of resurfacing. The amount of reinforcement depends on the vehicle load, the traffic situation on the existing roads, and whether or not there are any potholes. Sapna Koli, a city engineer at KDMC, cites this as a major reason for the development of potholes. According to the KDMC, road resurfacing is done in consideration of vehicular traffic on the stretch. The layer of tar is applied based on this. It also includes the maintenance of drainage lines alongside highways. Another major cause of potholes, according to Koli, is a lack of proper stormwater drainage. The KDMC has begun mastic asphalting at various locations. It has a three-year lifespan, which is significantly longer than standard asphalting. Asphalting, on the other hand, is not a viable option for all roads because it has the drawback of making the road slick during the rainy season. Sreeniwas Ghanekar, the founder of Alert Citizens Forum, said that based on his observations, the tender for road repair work is done six months before the monsoon. There will be no major road works for the next six months. Ghanekar suggests that the civic body use these six months to ensure that the roads are properly repaired. Image SourceAlso read: Pune civic body and MahaMetro to jointly repair roads and fill potholes Also read: BMC sets up 24 teams to repair potholes