Mumbai: Residents of Dadar Parsi Colony and former local corporator Amey Ghole have urged the BMC to use M40-grade concrete, instead of M20, for pavement re-laying and repairs and avoid stamp-concreting of footpaths.
According to the residents, the footpaths which were laid with M20 grade concrete were stamped and given a pink pigmentation. They added that crevices were caused because of the stamping, which then got filled with moss and algae during monsoon, making them slippery and dangerous. The residents have also requested the BMC to ensure the gradient of the footpath and road is such to enable water to flow out from buildings onto the pavement.
On Tuesday, a delegation of the Mancherji Edulji Joshi Colony Residents’ Association and Ghole met additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar and suggested that the BMC consider using a brooming finish instead of stamp concrete for better durability and compatibility of footpaths, besides ensuring a safe pathway for the elderly and children during excavation work.
“The stamped designs on M20 concrete result in moss gathering on footpaths during monsoon, which cause people to slip and fall, and even suffer fractures. Even interlocking tiles gather moss, so we want the BMC to use M40 grade concrete with a broom finish,” said Darayus Bacha, a member of the residents’ association.
However, a senior BMC official explained, “The load factor decides the concrete grade. Footpaths do not need high-grade concrete; using M40 concrete will only result in higher expenditure for the civic body. Besides, the problems cited by the residents can be resolved by just tweaking the way that the footpath is laid; we will do the same. Other issues, such as two-wheelers using footpaths, can be resolved by putting up bollards, and railings along bylanes can be removed.”
