MUMBAI: BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Saturday directed civic officials to ensure that all municipal hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities remain clean, encroachment-free and visually uniform, while also setting a May 31 deadline for completion of ongoing roadworks across the city.The BMC currently operates more than 500 healthcare facilities, including health centres, maternity homes, speciality hospitals and ‘Aapla Dawakhana’ clinics, which together cater to over two crore citizens annually. Civic officials said the BMC has 14,653 hospital beds at present, and another 4,556 beds are expected to be added after new hospitals become operational.Bhide directed officials to ensure structural safety audits, timely repairs and regular maintenance of hospital buildings. She also stressed the need for adequate housekeeping and security staff, uninterrupted water and power supply, strict fire safety compliance, and regular disinfection of toilets in hospitals and clinics. Bhide said all ongoing road projects should be completed by May 31. “Roads should not be repaired in patches but completed from one end to the other in a uniform and high-quality manner,” she told officials. Officials were told that in locations where concrete roads cannot be completed this season, high-quality mastic roads should be laid instead. She also directed engineers to ensure roads remain level and free of uneven surfaces by carrying out milling works wherever required. She instructed officials to reinstall speed breakers near schools, hospitals and other sensitive locations, and use thermoplastic markings and rumble strips to improve traffic safety.During a separate review of monsoon preparedness, Bhide directed officials to ensure that no manholes remain open during the rainy season and that protective grills are installed on all manholes before monsoon onset. She also asked departments to prepare long-term plans for flood-prone “chronic spots” across the city.
