‘We may boycott civic polls if devpt works don’t gain pace’

NAVI MUMBAI: Residents of sector 11, Koparkhairane, the ward of mayor Sagar Naik, may boycott the upcoming civic elections as they believe that development work has come to a standstill in their area.
The roads dug up after monsoons are unattended, said residents. “Sector 11 has now been reduced to a dumping ground for mud, debris and cement pipes. NMMC had started repairing drains, followed by asphalting the road, after monsoon last year.But the work lasted only two months and since then things have remained as they are,” said Rajashekar Reddy, secretary, Shivsimran CHS.
Residents also said that it was better when there were no roads in this node. “We had assumed that the development work will be of benefit to us as there are over 50 residential societies here. But, the reality is far from that. There is debris dumped all over, drainage pipes are lying wide open and the attitude of NMMC and the corporator is evasive,” said another resident Kanan Iyer.
Residents of sector 15, Belapur shared a similar story. The ambitious One-Time Development plan, started by the NMMC around 10 months ago, is going at a snail’s pace, they said. One side of the road has been dug up completely; leading to snarls and even the streetlights installed by the civic body don’t work. This has made the place a haven for anti-social elements.
“Road widening, re-laying of drainage channels and the beautification of the green belt was supposed to be done at one go. But 10 months into the project, we haven’t seen much happening. Instead, the roads have now been reduced to rubble and pedestrians can no longer access the footpaths,” said a resident.
Mayor Sagar Naik said that asphalting was delayed as they wanted MGL to finish their pipeline work. “The pipe-laying work will be finished in seven days from now and the road, too, will be asphalted,” he said. He has also assured to look into the issues faced by Belapur residents.