Mumbai, July 10: Torrential rainfall over the past four days has not only struck the local railway network - known as the lifeline of Mumbai - but also have paralysed the roadways as potholes have exponentially multiplied. At least two deaths have been reported in the span of past 48 hours in the city due to the potholes. In a bid to find a solution to the near-unmotorable roads, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked the BMC to approach the IIT-Bombay.

Fadnavis' order for the civic body came after netizens flooded with posts on Twitter and other social media sites lambasting the government and BMC for being in "hand-in glove" with the road mafia.

While speaking in the assembly, Fadnavis attempted to counter the allegations claiming the potholes have decreased after the BJP came to power.

Some of the tweets on Mumbai's pothole-ridden roads: 

Potholes decreased in Mumbai after BJP came to power in the state: Fadnavis

To prove his claim, CM went ahead and read a data pertaining to Mumbai potholes in the ongoing monsoon session assembly. He said that the potholes which were 14,455 in 2014-15 has come down to 4,044 in 2017-18. In 2015-16, the city roads had around 5,316 potholes, and in 2016-17 this number reduced to 4,478, he claimed. Well, CM's data on potholes under Congress regime and under BJP ruling would really make any sense to Mumbaikars', we don't think so. Instead of that Fadnavis would have directed some stern action against such contractors who are behind this menace.

The statement was made by CM while replying to a question raised by MLA Naseem Khan from Congress party over the poor condition of roads and what measures are being taken by the government to improve the same on Tuesday.

Fadnavis also directed the civic body to constitute a separate committee and conduct ward level inquiry against the officers and contractors for recurring pothole problems being experienced especially after heavy rains witnessed by the city.  The statement also states that the Mumbai municipal body had so far spent Rs. 9.3 crore to fill the potholes, while Rs. 80.73 crore worth of tenders were issued for only resurfacing of roads and other repair works. The money spent on improving the roads is huge, Mumbai is known as the capital city of India with citizens contributing the tax to the government more as compared to any other city, still, the citizens have to face inconvenience. With crores of rupees been spent every year the picture has not changed. It seems taxpayers money has been wasted by authorities and the pain of citizens has been taken for granted as no lesson been learned.

The bad roads has not just pushed the traffic at a snail's pace but has also put the life of the motorists at risk. Reportedly, due to a bad road, pillion rider lost life in Kalyan, a few days ago.  A Mumbai based journalist also met with an accident after his bike hit a pothole on Monday. The journalist survived with severe injuries.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2018 06:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).