BMC shies away from responsibility

BMC shies away from responsibility

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 02:18 AM IST
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Mumbai :  Just a week after corporators demanded that the city’s civic body take responsibility for the treatment of 40-year-old Bandra woman who slipped into a coma after an accident on the Mahim Causeway on April 6, the BMC has shied away from the responsibility. Instead of taking responsibility for the accident Additional Municipal Commissioner (Roads) SVR Shrinivas has blamed the traffic police.

Marilyn Remedios (40), who slipped into coma after falling off a two-wheeler while avoiding a huge pothole on Mahim Causeway, was riding pillion with her husband Sheldon (48). They were on their way from Bandra to Dadar to catch the morning Jan Shatabdi Express to Goa when they fell off their Honda Activa allegedly due to a pothole on the Mahim Causeway. Remedios, bleeding profusely from the head, was first taken to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra and then to Lilavati Hospital. The accident left her with a clot in her head, leading to coma.

Shrinivas was speaking at a conference organised by a non-profit organisation ‘Together VCAN’. Interacting with the citizens on various issues regarding road safety, he said the traffic police declined permission to the BMC to barricade the part of road at Mahim Causeway that was under construction. Traffic police allowed the BMC to carry out work on the road only at night so as not to obstruct traffic during the day. Shrinivas said, “It is very dangerous to travel on a newly constructed road. Ideally we would have sealed the road for a few days but we would get only a few hours, as traffic would start running in the morning, right after we had patched the road up. That is why the accident happened.”

Meanwhile, to prevent accidents of pedestrians, the BMC has come up with a ‘pedestrian first’ policy. In the backdrop of citizens’ protesting about hawkers occupying footpaths around the city, Shrinivas said the BMC will give preference to pedestrians, for whom the footpaths are made. Any stalls, fire-hydrants or post boxes getting in the way will be removed.

The BMC has identified 8 areas in the city with maximum footfall (number of people using the footpath daily). These areas fall around the suburban railway stations. Running a pilot project at Dadar station, it is going to build 1.5 to 3 meter wide hawker-free footpaths. When this project is successful, BMC will implement the same at Churchgate station.

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