Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) claim of just over 1,200 potholes in the city has raised eyebrows, with residents questioning the methodology adopted by the civic body as city roads have taken a severe beating during the monsoon.The city has a road network of around 4,587 km, of which nearly 2,772 km comprises tar roads. Against this vast network, zonal offices have reported 1,282 potholes affecting only around 12,380 sq m of road surface.The figures have put the pre-Ganeshotsav exercise under the lens. Commuters contend that the official numbers do not match the condition of roads across the city. Motorists said several stretches have multiple potholes, broken edges, and extensively damaged surfaces, making the count appear understated.NMC officials said the pothole tally is based on surveys carried out by the respective zonal teams. However, it remains unclear whether the teams undertook road-by-road inspections, used geo-tagged photographs, recorded the dimensions and depth of each pothole, or relied on complaints and visual identification from vehicles.The Dharampeth zone reported the highest number of potholes at 353, followed by Hanuman Nagar (280), Nehru Nagar (147), Laxmi Nagar (132), Ashi Nagar (125), Mangalwari (119), Dantoli (67), Gandhibagh (28), Satranjipura (16), and Lakadganj (15).The NMC’s hotmix department has formed five teams for urgent restoration of roads along Ganesh procession routes. Coldmix has been procured, and an Insta Patcher deployed for repairs. Roads have been categorised into low-traffic and high-density routes: repairs on low-traffic stretches will be carried out during the day, while busy routes — including Zero Mile, Central Avenue, and Sitabuldi — will be repaired at night to avoid disrupting traffic.The department said that by August 31, it had already restored 948 potholes. Dharampeth accounted for the highest number of repairs at 206, followed by Laxmi Nagar (171), Ashi Nagar (103), Nehru Nagar (95), Satranjipura (68), Mangalwari (62), Dantoli (45), Hanuman Nagar (41), Lakadganj (33), and Gandhibagh (23).A further complication is determining responsibility. Not all roads within Nagpur’s geographical limits fall under NMC control — stretches are owned or maintained by multiple agencies, including NMC, the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the state Public Works Department (PWD), Maha Metro, and others.The hotmix department will also restore roads identified by zonal offices, focusing on routes used for the Pili and Kali Marbat processions in central Nagpur, in addition to Ganesh procession routes.With Ganeshotsav approaching, the question confronting the civic administration is not merely how many potholes it can repair, but whether its survey has captured the true scale of road damage before the processions hit the streets. Residents want the civic body to publish its survey methodology and an agency-wise road inventory — and to clarify whether every damaged stretch was physically inspected, rather than estimated.
