Post that catastrophe, citizens had one refrain about work beginning on Hughes Road. It is not surprising that we have had responses expressing relief at work beginning at the stretch. The overriding sentiment though is doubt over meeting the June 2021 deadline and the quality of work.
Workers dig a section of the stretch on Hughes Road that was damaged in last year's mudslide, on Thursday. Pic/Ashish Raje
A while after this paper wrote about work starting on the stretch on Hughes Road that leads to Babulnath, there has been substantial response to SoBo’s top concern about repairs to the important road. The road is a lifeline connecting Peddar Road, Kemps Corner and Breach Candy to further south.
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Readers will recall that last year, the Peddar Road and Hughes Road stretch was devastated by a landslide in August, triggered by heavy rain. In September the same year, as an unflagging monsoon compounded challenges for Mumbaikars, there was a mudslide and mud poured down from Doongerwadi above, affecting Hughes Road below as gigantic trees keeled over, smashing the retaining wall.
This paper had run extensive reports and mid-day’s website had a video of mud pouring into a home at Khareghat Colony. In a surreal scene, mud slid into a bedroom, smashing window grills and flooding the room.
Post that catastrophe, citizens had one refrain about work beginning on Hughes Road. It is not surprising that we have had responses expressing relief at work beginning at the stretch. The overriding sentiment though is doubt over meeting the June 2021 deadline and the quality of work.
Authorities need to understand the place these doubts are coming from. These are from a citizenry weary and wary about promises, and let down time and again when it comes to deadlines for completion and even work quality.
Let us break this stereotype now by truly sticking to a timeframe. Be more transparent and have some accountability when it comes to such repairs. Finally, ensure that the repairs are top-notch, worth the money and effort, and truly stand the test of time. Adherence to this pattern will obliterate cynicism and perennial questions dangling above any civic work or facelifts. BMC, your time starts now.
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