Doctors have advised Mumbaikars to be careful while walking on the footpath and travelling on roads during the monsoon season, as ill-fitted paver blocks and potholes are endangering citizens.
Speaking about the situation, the head of Sion Hospital’s orthopaedic department, Dr Arvind Goregaonkar, said, “On an average I see eight to nine patients complaining about spine injuries, sprained ankles, fractures or shooting pains in the vertebral column every day. The problem is potholes on our roads, which cause significant injuries to the back. When cars, bikes or autorickshaws pass over potholes, there is a jerk, which is risky and causes a lot of tension in the spinal column. Some paver blocks are not fitted properly, and when people walk on them, there is no grip which causes slipperiness, and lots of patients tend to fall and sprain or fracture their ankles.”
Speaking to The Asian Age, BMC chief engineer, roads and traffic, Ashok Pawar said, “ We are working on it. New paver blocks have been installed. They will be strong and won’t cause any harm. At one time, there were around more than 50,000 potholes in Mumbai city, but now they have been reduced, and improvements have been done over a period of time.
All the complaints have been attended to this monsoon. The recent rains created problems but we managed to sort them out during the dry span. All the pothole complaints have been attended to in 48 hours; it is also the people’s responsibility to drive carefully”.
Diseases that usually afflict those above the age of 60, such as cervical spondylosis, are also being witnessed in a growing number of people who are below 40, all thanks to bad roads and potholes. The first major cautionary signs of cervical spondylosis is a pain in the neck and shoulders and arms, which may lead to excruciating pain shooting down the arms.
