App shoots Naupada to top of pothole list

THANE: The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC)'s new mobile application to report about potholes in the city has been flooding with messages over the last few days. Residents from Naupada and Majiwada-Manpada areas have sent the most number of complaints as the roads in these areas are riddled with potholes.
The TMC's app received 85 complaints with photographic evidence of the potholes.Out of this, 55 complaints were from Naupada and Majiwada-Manpada wards. As many as 31 complaints came from Naupada ward, while 21 were from Majiwada-Manpada areas. The TMC received nine complaints from Kalwa, followed by five from Railadevi and Wagle Estate and four from Lokmanya Nagar, a civic official said.
"We will be addressing the problems as soon as possible. We will ensure that the city roads are resurfaced so that residents do not face a lot of problems. However, it becomes difficult to carry out repairs during heavy rains. We will use advanced technology to fill the potholes as soon as possible," said civic chief Sanjeev Jaiswal.
An engineering team from the TMC and information technology department has notified officials from the PWD department to look into the complaints within 48 hours. "Till Tuesday evening, nearly 49 complaints of potholes were forwarded to the junior engineers and another 11 were on the verge of being addressed," a TMC official said.
Meanwhile, civic officials have said that they will not only address the areas that have been affected, but will also look into the problems of surrounding places. The civic commissioner said his team is on their toes and are looking into the problems in various parts of the city. The civic body is planning to hire some jet patching machines that can ensure no damage to the roads.
Residents from the city have also been proactive in responding to the complaints in their respective areas. Nearly 300 residents had downloaded the app within the first three days of its launch on Saturday.
The TMC has appealed to citizens travelling on any stretch of the nearly 385km roads in Thane to aim, click and shoot