Pune: Maharashtra’s Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil has personally undertaken the task of filling potholes in his constituency of Kothrud.

Using his own funds, Patil launched an initiative to repair the city’s damaged roads, bringing much-needed attention to the issue. The move, however, has not gone unnoticed by political opponents, who accuse him of trying to garner attention ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

The persistent monsoon showers during July and August left Pune's roads full of potholes, prompting widespread dissatisfaction among residents. Pune Municipal Commissioner had earlier promised that the city’s roads would be repaired before the Ganesh festival.

However, due to a shortage of manpower, road repairs have progressed at a slow pace. Frustrated by the delay, Chandrakant Patil took matters into his own hands, organizing a meeting with the Municipal Commissioner last week. When improvements continued at a sluggish pace, he personally started filling potholes in the Kothrud constituency.

Patil has claimed that potholes on both major and internal roads are being addressed under his initiative. "So far, we have repaired 40 potholes on major roads in Baner, Balewadi, Pashan, and Sutarwadi, as well as 300 potholes in Kothrud," Patil stated, adding that remaining potholes would soon be addressed.

While residents welcome the repairs, the opposition has criticized Patil’s actions as a political stunt ahead of the elections. Prashant Jagtap, city president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), remarked, "With just two months left before the elections, Patil has suddenly started this initiative.

Despite the BJP being in power at both the central and state levels, they have failed to deliver good roads. Even with control of the Municipal Corporation, they’ve only managed to stage a political show. That’s why Patil is now forced to act."

Even within the BJP, some have pointed out the failure of local authorities. Ujjwal Keskar, former Leader of Opposition in the Pune Municipal Corporation, stated, "It is a glaring example of the inefficiency of the Municipal Corporation that a state minister has to step in and repair roads. This is unprecedented in Pune's history. Had the administration acted in time, public representatives wouldn’t have to get involved in road repairs."