Dadar’s Jame Jamshed Road Residents Stuck Between Potholes and Slow Civic Works

Dadar Parsi Colony, Mumbai: Residents of Jame Jamshed Road in Dadar Parsi Colony have been living in a constant state of frustration due to ongoing civic infrastructure work, including road concretisation. For the past two to three weeks, various roads and footpaths have been dug up, leaving residents stranded without proper access to their homes.

The disrupted areas are so extensively dug up that residents can’t drive out of their buildings, and many have to risk walking over uneven paths. Residents are upset with the slow pace of work, claiming that contractors only work intermittently for brief periods, sometimes no more than an hour each day.

Local resident Rustom expressed his concerns, saying, "We cannot take our vehicles out from one of the building gates. Roads have been dug up to lay pipelines and construction material is left all over the footpaths." The situation is made worse by dangerous depressions forming near footpaths and roads.

Kashmira Pastakia, a senior resident, highlighted the risk to the elderly. "There are many senior citizens in the colony, and with the narrow lanes, this has become a serious danger," she remarked. The growing frustration has led some to suggest that the BMC implement better planning and finish works in stages to ensure smoother progress.

Additionally, there are long-standing requests from residents to improve footpath durability by using M40 concrete for a stronger foundation. According to them, current M20 grade concrete with stamped designs quickly becomes slippery during the monsoon.

While most residents understand that infrastructure projects take time, the safety concerns and inconvenience are becoming increasingly difficult to bear. They call for swift action from the BMC to ease their daily struggles.

Will the authorities heed the calls for faster and safer work? Only time will tell.