From repainted crosswalks to spruced up reservations and street vendors told to stay away, the BMC has, as some say, gone on an “overdrive.” In some departments, road signs are also being cleaned and urgent repair work has begun. Local residents are surprised that there are no administrative hurdles over jurisdiction to fill potholes or department officials citing funding crisis. In fact, the authorities have allocated Rs 25 crore for this cleanup operation. Not that citizens are complaining, but some believe that the agility the civic body has now shown to prepare the city for the G20 presidency meeting is what tax-paying citizens otherwise deserve.
The efforts of the civic body have not gone unnoticed either. G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant thanked the BMC for the beautification works in a tweet saying, “Mumbai is awash in #G20 colours! Special thanks to @mybmc for the tremendous work he did in welcoming our esteemed international delegates to the first Indian Presidency Development Working Group (DWG) meeting. ”
Former corporator of BMC of Bandra, Asif Zakaria, also took to social media and tweeted about Monday night changes. “Thanks to the @g20org presidency meeting in Mumbai, @mybmc @mybmcWardHW has gone into overdrive to beautify the city. From the fact that #Mumbairoads scrubbed the repainted crosswalks and spruced up traffic islands it happened overnight. Only if our tax-paying citizens received such concessions every day!” reads his Tweet.
Later, talking to TOI, he said he can’t remember when I’ve seen BMC wash the streets in the past. “KC road at Bandra reclamation and BJ Road at Bandstand are all being scrubbed. The entire road from Taj Lands End to Bandra Worli Sea Link has been fixed. When we ask to undertake urgent repairs, officials say there is no funds, but here funds were made possible all at once,” Zakaria said.
Meanwhile, former group leader Tulip Miranda told Vakola, the road leading to the Grand Hyatt, where several delegates are hosted, has finally been resurfaced to make it smoother.
