In a bid to improve the condition of roads in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched #PotholeChallenge2019 for the residents of Mumbai where citizens hold a chance of winning Rs 500 cash prize if their pothole complaints to the civic body do not get resolved within 24 hours.
However, BMC has no clue from where the money would come, how they would verify a person’s details and who would be held accountable.
We accept the #PotholeChallenge2019 & we nominate YOU to help us win! Click a picture/selfie with a pothole, report on #FixItApp & we promise to fix it within 24 hrs. If not, you pocket Rs. 500! Report via https://t.co/eH6CsOifYF
Or visit: https://t.co/UQ4DbfpbHZ pic.twitter.com/lQPSkvFn6M— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) November 1, 2019
The civic body reportedly said that prize money for a particular pothole will be given to the person who reported the pothole first. The most important condition is that a person can complain about two potholes.
As said in a Mid-Day report, the deputy municipal commissioners and deputy chief engineers have been given the responsibility to carry out the procedure of selecting winners for the challenge however, they appear to know nothing about it.
A deputy municipal commissioner was quoted as saying “There are no instructions on how to give the award. There is no mention of it in the budget. Even if we give the award from the funds allocated to us, it is unclear how to verify the person and his/her bank account number. There is also no instruction on how to recover the money.”
A number of citizens have been filing complaints about potholes ever since the BMC launched MyBMC Pothole Fixit app nearly a month ago. The app allows users to register pothole-related complaints in all the administrative wards of the BMC.
