As seen in the picture, MNS corporators Sandeep Deshpande (extreme left) and Sanjay Dhuri forced Sanjay Darade, chief engineer of roads department of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) to hold up a placard saying, ‘Citizens should note that I am responsible for potholes’.
This act obviously irked Darade’s BMC engineers, who equated it with attacks on doctors at BMC hospitals. In protest, around 4,200 civic engineers submitted their resignations to the municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta. Although their resignations have not been accepted, they have gone on an indefinite strike. They have two demands — arrest Deshpande and Dhuri as well as dismiss them from their posts.
The Shivaji Park police station then registered an FIR against two Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporators under Section 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Deshpande has said that he will not apply for bail until all potholes are filled, if arrested.
BMC, which is the richest municipal corporation in the country, is going to polls in 4 months and potholes are an important issue. BJP, Congress and MNS have blamed Shiv Sena for poor condition of roads. But the latest incident has dragged the BMC administration into the political controversy.
We’ve requested the police to take action as per the law against those involved. We have, however, asked the engineers not to resign, since we cannot hold the city to ransom.Ajoy Mehta, Municipal Commissioner, Mumbai
MNS, which has become active in the last few months after a dismal performance in Assembly polls, is adamant on its stand.
We didn’t take him anywhere against his wish. We gave him an ultimatum of 10 more days. If Mumbai’s potholes are not filled by then, we would make him hold the placard once again.Sandeep Deshpande, Corporator, MNS
Meanwhile, MNS has instructed its leaders to file police cases against civic engineers across Mumbai accusing them of being responsible for potholes. Due to incessant rains even in October, the condition of roads in the city is pathetic, but according to BMC records, there are only 35 potholes in the city today!