Crawford market pavement: BMC promises action

Taking cognisance of the dna report on uprooting of pavement tiles at Crawford Market during the first showers in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) market committee has decided to take action in the case.

Chairperson of (Market-Garden) committee Yamini Jadhav, who has assured to probe the issue, said that she has asked civic officers concerned to survey the condition of the pedestrian walkways at the market.

She claimed that directives were also given to assistant municipal commissioner (Market) Sanjay Kurhade to make a report in the matter.

"The pavement tiles and pedestrian walking paths were laid not less than a year ago. Almost all of it have been uprooted and broken. This is shoddy work and a serious matter, which will be checked at all cost," Jadhav said.

The issue orbits around an array of walkway tiles and blocks — broken, uprooted and scalped out of their place — in the Crawford Market. The situation, which was caused due to reported deplorable construction work by a civic-appointed contractor, is causing severe inconvenience to vendors and buyers visiting the market.

According to the grievance raised by the vendors, the heavy spell of rain that lashed the city during the weekend loosened the pavement tiles out of their concretised holds.

The newly-laid cement tiles also developed fissures, which caused rainwater to seep inside the ground creating mud and muck in the market.

Irked vendors raised questions on the ongoing Rs100-crore redevelopment of the colonial-era market as well.