Many residents, mainly senior citizens living in Dadar’s Parsi Colony, have expressed their concern over the use of graded M-20 concrete by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to build footpaths.
Currently, the BMC has repaired roads in the island city and suburbs under its project to concretize Mumbai’s roads.
As a result, many sidewalks are being demolished and rebuilt to level with new concreted roads. As per BMC’s rules – apart from paver blocks, civic authorities use graded M-20 concrete for pavement construction. After the concrete slabs are layered, the top is stamped to create cracks, which later have a pink pigmentation.
As a result, during rains, the cracks get filled with algae and make the surface slippery which often leads to road accidents. Also, due to the rough surface, water and dust are also trapped on the printed surface.
Consequently, a delegation of local citizens of Dadar has demanded the civic authorities to replace these pavements with better M-40 grade concrete for better durability.
“Over the past few months, there have been several incidents of senior citizens and vulnerable people falling and injuring themselves. The only solution to these matters is the use of m-40 concrete, which has a uniform surface and is also durable,” Darayas Bacha – member of Mancherji Edulji Joshi Colony Residents Association (MEJCRA) told The Indian Express.
Earlier on November 10, Bacha and several senior citizens met Abhijit Bangar – Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) and requested him to take notice of the issue. Former Shiv Sena local corporator Amey Ghole was also present with the residents.
“BMC has constructed hard concrete footpaths in several pockets in Fort area and suburbs in south Mumbai on pilot basis. We are requesting BMC to implement this technology in our Parsi Colony. Besides benefiting citizens, BMC will also be able to save good amount of money as this technology is new No and the authorities already have the expertise,” Gho told Express.
Unlike M-20, M-40 concrete is a higher grade with stronger durability. Civic officials said secondary effects like shrinkage and spalling of concrete would be reduced by using high-grade concrete.
“M-40 concrete is also very expensive in price. Even for patchwork, using this particular grade of concrete costs more than laying a new layer of concrete. Therefore, we can stick to M-25 or M-30 grade concrete which is better than M-20 and also cost effective. We will first have to sample the raw material and get it tested before finalizing anything,” said a civic official.
The official said tenders for the project will be issued after the sample report is submitted to the BMC.