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  Metros   Mumbai  31 Aug 2019  87 posts vacant at cold mix plant

87 posts vacant at cold mix plant

THE ASIAN AGE.
Published : Aug 31, 2019, 3:48 am IST
Updated : Aug 31, 2019, 3:48 am IST

The query has also revealed that the production of cold mix material this year is 89 per cent less than in 2017-18.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Mumbai: At a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is receiving widespread criticism for failing to plug potholes on city roads, 87 posts are lying vacant at the civic cold mix producing plant at Worli, a Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed. The query has also revealed that the production of cold mix material this year is 89 per cent less than in 2017-18.

Activist Shakeel Ahmed who filed the RTI, said, “Due to staff crunch, the production of cold mix has gone down. Out of 128 sanctioned positions at the Worli plant, only 41 have been filled. Also, the production is very much below capacity. Per day, the capacity is a minimum 50 metric tonnes of cold mix. Thus, it is expected that every month, a minimum 1,500 metric tonnes of cold mix should be produced. However, the data shows that not more than 300 to 400 tonnes of cold mix is produced in a month.”

“The cold mix material is also of poor quality. The municipal commissioner on August 24 said that citizens should not fill potholes themselves. Hence, we tweeted a photograph of a pothole on the Kurla-CST road near the BMC L-ward office. The civic body filled that pothole on August 27. However, within less than 28 hours on August 28, the pothole had reappeared,” Mr Ahmed said.

The cold mix is a quick dry material that the BMC uses to fill potholes. However, some Opposition leaders and activists have protested the use of cold mix on grounds that it is not very effective as potholes reappear soon after plugging them.

Tags: brihanmumbai municipal corporation