Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma
(The Quint’s My Report published an article on 3 July 2019 by Rajesh Manoharlal Baniya, who almost met with an accident on Mumbai’s Western Express Highway due to a pothole. Within 12 hours of the incident, the pothole was filled by the MMRDA.)
On the morning of Wednesday, 3 July, while travelling to work I narrowly escaped an accident. I was on my bike, riding down the Western Express Highway, which is riddled with potholes. It was raining heavily. My bike stumbled on the pothole and I fell. There was a bus right behind me, which, luckily, pulled the brakes on time. Had it not done so in time, I would have been done that day.
I quickly shot a video of the incident and reported it to The Quint. The video went viral.
My friends Mushtaq Ansari and Irfan Machhiwala from ‘Pothole Warriors’ helped me in raising the issue via Twitter as well. Twelve hours later, I went to the spot to check if anything had been done. To my surprise, the pothole, which was about four-and-a-half metres long, had been filled!
The authorities acted immediately and filled the potholes. Even though it has been filled with paver blocks, it will prevent a lot of accidents.
I would like to thank The Quint for all the help. I would also like to thank the authorities for their swift action in the matter. My only appeal to them is to find a permanent solution to Mumbai’s pothole problem.
Fill these potholes in any way possible, even if it’s with paver blocks. Even if you don’t have the time to fill a pothole, at least put barriers around it so that people are aware that there is an open manhole or a pothole at the spot.
Mushtaq, who visited the site along with me, has a similar request.
“I request the BMC and MMRDA to not wait for us to tweet about potholes and then reply to us, but to send someone to survey the potholes themselves.”Mushtaq Ansari
(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
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