4 days ago
Rainwater Ebbs, Sinkholes Get Deeper: Broken Roads Sets NMC Hotline Abuzz
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Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is flooded with complaints as roads across the city have broken apart following three days of incessant rainfall. The civic body's hotmix department is overwhelmed, receiving hundreds of distress calls and online grievances about pothole-ridden stretches across the city.
"In the last 10 days, the NMC's online portal received 106 complaints related to bad roads with a majority of these received in the last couple of days," said an official from NMC's grievance redressal cell.
With the NMC's hotmix plant shut during monsoon, emergency repairs are being carried out using Jetpatcher and Insta Patcher machines, but these temporary measures are proving inadequate. In areas with no stormwater drainage or clogged outflows, waterlogging has worsened the road, leading to formation of dangerous crater-sized potholes.
Key trouble spots like the Gaddigodam gurudwara underpass and the road near Loha Pul, approach roads to Automotive Square, have become nearly unmotorable. "Even a short ride has turned into a back-breaking journey," said Vishal Chauhan, a resident of Shanti Nagar. Several arterial and internal roads are no different, with complaints piling up every hour.
TOI has consistently reported on the poor state of city roads, with the current monsoon spell exposing infrastructure failure and neglect.
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A senior official from the hotmix department said repairs are underway at several points. "We patched the Mangalwari bazar stretch, started work at Ganeshpeth bus stand, and are attending to the Zero Mile and Ashoka Chowk area — though some stretches have ongoing cable-laying work that complicates restoration," the official said.
Even roads which were dug up for pipeline or stormwater networks were not restored properly.
Now, complaints of uneven stretches too have increased, said the official, citing the example of online road restoration work near Police Line Lake.
Due to heavy traffic during the day, the NMC is now planning night shifts for patchwork in high-density areas. "We began early-morning repairs, but to avoid congestion and safety issues, night patching is being prioritised," he added.
Still, residents say the damage reflects deeper systemic flaws.
"The monsoon hits every year — why aren't roads built to last? Where's the drainage plan? These are not new problems," asked Ajeet Singh, a resident of Palloti Nagar.
Given the poor state of most of the city's tar roads, the crisis is far from over. Unless NMC moves beyond patchwork and addresses the root causes — poor drainage, bad road design, and lack of coordination between departments — citizens will continue to pay the price in broken vehicles, injuries, and lost time.
