Mumbai’s long-standing pothole problem has worsened with continuous rain since Friday, August 15. In just 24 hours before Wednesday night, August 20, 442 new potholes were reported across the city.
The civic data shows that between June 1 and August 20, citizens filed 10,803 complaints about potholes.
In the last 20 days alone, 3,356 complaints were recorded. Residents have been reporting road damage through several platforms. These include social media, the BMC disaster management helpline 1916, and the “My Pothole Quick Fix” app launched in June. The app has quickly become the main channel, with 9,110 reports so far.
The civic body has also introduced a live dashboard where citizens can track the status of their complaints. But heavy rainfall has left several low-lying areas waterlogged, making damaged roads worse and raising doubts about how quickly repairs can be finished.
Some wards have seen a larger share of complaints:
1. The S Ward, which covers Powai and Bhandup, reported the highest number with 1,880 cases.
2. The K-West Ward, covering Andheri, Juhu, and Oshiwara, had 1,042 complaints.
3. Ghatkopar’s N Ward logged 921.
4. Mulund’s T Ward saw 757.
5. The least affected parts of the city were A Ward, which covers Colaba and Fort, with less than a hundred complaints.
6. B Ward in Dongri also recorded less than a hundred complaints.
Not all complaints were directly related to potholes. Of the total, 79 were reopened, 754 fell under the responsibility of other agencies, and 2,846 were considered invalid or unrelated.
According to officials, 9,212 complaints have been closed, while 1,591 remain unresolved. Each of the city’s 227 wards has a road engineer responsible for monitoring 10 to 15 kilometres of roads daily.
As per reports, potholes become more visible after heavy rain and authorities made sure to fill each one within 24 to 48 hours. A special drive is also planned before Ganeshotsav to fix potholes once the rains ease.
The civic body has allocated INR 154 crore for road repairs this year. This is lower than last year’s INR 205 crore. Asphalt and paver-block roads continue to be the most affected, while 1,333 km of Mumbai’s 2,050 km road network has already been concreted.
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