In the past two weeks, accidents on pothole-ridden roads have claimed five lives in Mumbai. (Photo: Getty images)

Potholes cannot be entirely blamed when people die in accidents due to them, this is what Maharashtra's PWD Minister Chandrakant Patil had to say when asked about the frequent deaths in Mumbai due to potholed roads.

In the past one month, accidents on pothole-ridden roads have claimed six lives in Mumbai. Five of these were in Kalyan, while one was in Navi Mumbai.

In all these cases, the victims lost balance and fell when their two-wheelers hit a pothole.

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"When you talk about a death in such an accident, you forget that five lakh other people have travelled on the same road. You cannot put the entire blame on the condition of roads alone," the minister said in Sangli on Saturday.

Asked about people slamming civic bodies and the state government on social media over the pothole-ridden roads in Mumbai, Patil said, "People have a habit of changing their opinions constantly."

"For a while they like something and then soon pass a negative remark (on the same issue)," he said.

People in Mumbai are criticising the civic bodies on social media for the poor road conditions.

The senior minister said he did not have all the information about the recent accidents. He said action will be taken against officials based on the facts of each case. "Family members of the deceased will get due compensation," he said.

Potholes riddle Ahilyabai Holkar Marg in #Mumbai's Shivaji Nagar, Commuters say Govt should fill these potholes as soon as possible as in monsoon season due to waterlogging these become invisible and it gets very dangerous, pic.twitter.com/bX8YuM9E8e July 15, 2018

The Congress has termed the minister's comment as "insensitive".

"We condemn the minister for his insensitive comment. He was questioning people's view of roads, but he will understand what people can do after elections," said state Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant.

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Sunday claimed that there were 20,000 potholes on Mumbai roads, and not 300 as stated by the Bombay Municipal Corporation before the Bombay High Court.

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Meanwhile, Mumbaikars have taken it to the social media to express their anger over pothole-ridden roads in Mumbai that cause long traffic jams and even become fatal sometimes, especially during rains.

Taking a humorous jibe at the civic authorities, Darshan Mondkar, a Facebook user, said, "Had a full day driving around Mumbai today. Thank you BMC for building a few roads amongst the potholes."

Another Facebook user, Jessy George, rued at the fact that this problem has not been solved in past so many years.

(With inputs from PTI)

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