Spurred by the pathetic condition of the roads on two key bridges of Ulhasnagar ahead of Ganesh festival, citizens collected funds from local businessmen and politicians to repair the stretch of road on the bridges. It was the donation of R11,000 by Ulhasnagar BJP MLA Kumar Ailani that became the talk of town. However, citizens’ initiative resulted in the repair of potholes on both the bridges. The citizens had to take the initiative as the five-year term of the elected general body in Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) has come to an end and the corporators do not have any say in the affairs of the civic body.

When citizens, who were from several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), approached the politicians for donations they were hoping that they would take up all responsibility for the road repairs. After the citizens took the initiative, MLA Ailani is said to have repaired the road on the other bridge, which is being seen as an exercise to salvage his reputation.