Mumbai: Gorai Residents Install Warning Signboards Over Dug-Up Roads, Demand Contractor's Removal

Mumbai: Frustrated with dug up roads in the village, the residents of Gorai have installed signboards to warn people about the bad condition of the roads asking motorists to drive slow to prevent accidents. The Gorai Village Residents Association has also raised concerns about the road’s contractor being awarded all the contracts in the area and have demanded sacking of the contractor.

In a strange example of being ‘aatmanirbhar’, the residents of Gorai village have put up warning signages on the roads after the contractor failed to place the warning about dug-up roads. The residents alleged that the contractor has left the work of Gorai-Manori road halfway, which was started back in 2022. Distressed by the daily series of accidents, the residents have decided to place warning signboards at their own expense.

Gorai, which is one of the most famous beach staycation locality within the city, has a large number of tourist arrivals on a daily basis. As the dug up roads, which were filled with rain water in the monsoon, caused inconvenience to the people and especially the visitors, the residents association decided to put up the signboards for the tourists asking them to drive slow and carefully on the roads to prevent any mishap.

Switsy Henriques, president of Gorai Village Residents Association, said, “The road has been left dug up since the first week of June. During monsoon, the rain water from the hill flows to the creek and gets logged in the potholes on the road. As one lane of the road is high and sharp-edged, around seven to eight accidents were happening on a daily basis. Tourists who are not aware about the road’s condition were struggling the most.”

The residents have also raised allegations against the contractor Pragati Enterprises claiming that the contractor is inefficient and still all the construction works are being awarded to a single firm. Alleging political patronage against BMC for tolerating the inefficient contractor, the resident association has demanded sacking the contractor from all future municipal works.

In a letter written to the BMC commissioner, the resident association said, “We have consistently highlighted the issues concerning the Gorai-Manori road. The civic appointed contractor M/s Pragati Enterprises, in collusion with corrupt officials of the P-North ward, has shown a blatant disregard for the complaints filed by local residents. They have been giver virtual free rein over civic works, resulting in subpar performance. We demand sacking of Pragati Enterprises from all future municipal works.”

Mira Bhayandar Bus Operator Warns To Stop Service

The results of the road’s condition were far reaching as the city bus operating firm of Mira Bhayandar, which operates a bus passing from Manori, had warned to discontinue the bus service due to the pathetic condition of road. In a letter written by Mahalaxmi City Bus Operator to the Mira Bhayandar municipal corporation, the operator has claimed that two of its buses broke down while being driven through the road from Gorai to Manori.

“Due to the ongoing construction work by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, a long stretch has turned water logged which is causing problem to the drivers to drive through this route. We request you to communicate this issue on your level with the BMC to get the work completed on an urgent basis. If the situation remains the same, we will have to discontinue the service on the affected routes as the drivers cannot apply brakes on such roads, which can cause any serious mishap,” stated the letter.