Not Smart! MCC ignoring Dilapidated Roads with Potholes

Not Smart! MCC ignoring Dilapidated Roads with Potholes

Dilapidated Roads take Sheen off ‘Smart City’! Not Smart! MCC ignoring Dilapidated Roads with Potholes

Mangaluru: It happens again and again and again- year and year and year after- and at the same locations of same streets/roads. I am talking about dilapidated roads filled with potholes. Heavy rains, heavy traffic and alternating periods of warm and cold have scarred local streets and the potholes pop up — and this has formed a worse-case scenario for repair crews who are struggling to find and fix all the emerging potholes. But are they doing the job right. I don’t think so. Throwing some loose stuff in a hole and just hoping the traffic driving over it will fix it, will not serve the purpose. The evidence now says otherwise. I think the only way to solve the current pothole mess is to lay a two-layered concrete road with a seal coat but the problem is, our authorities I bet are busy playing blame games. There are quite a few bad roads with potholes, but I would like to focus on two-such bad roads. By the way, have you taken the road, which is adjacent to Padua School that connects KPT-Bondel Road; and also the busy road near Bendore-well Circle? If you haven’t, please try to stay away from it!

While Kudla has been selected as one of “India’s Smart City’, but looking at the dilapidated roads, are we really heading towards a ‘Smart City’? Just look at the pathetic condition of the road near Bendore-well circle. How many times has State Minister UT Khader taken this road, which is just a stone’s throw away from his residence? Has he taken any action by directing his friends at MCC to quickly resurface this dilapidated stretch of road which has been a nuisance to motorists, especially two-wheelers? I guess, absolutely NO! Just look at the pictures below, which will portray the poor work done by the workers while constructing this road. It gets worse and worse every year once the monsoon starts. I bet a ride on this stretch is akin to a ride on a ‘ camel’s ‘ back- just bumpy!

Following are Images of the stretch of Road near Bendore-well circle

Instead of fixing the bad roads first, our MCC officials are busy resurfacing inner-lanes with brand new interlock bricks. But when it comes to fixing the bad roads they are slow and careless. As long as cheap quality tar is being used and layered too thinly, we will continue to have these problems every year. It’s an obvious pattern and I wonder why nobody is looking into this, or better yet, our city officials should visit other metropolitan cities in India or other countries and see how they are coping with this matter. Without any delay, MCC should undertake a major exercise to refurbish City’s potholes. If not, I have a feeling that our city potholed scarred roads will entice manufacturers of such equipment to come to Mangaluru and demonstrate to the MCC officials that their machines are the best solution to their problem, like they are doing in other potholed cities.

Driving on Mangaluru streets, and for that matter, even on outskirts of the City, is like an obstacle course. Drivers keep swerving and maneuvering to make sure they miss every pothole. These potholes have also worsened the chronic traffic jams which Mangalureans face everyday, apart from driving through Alake Road, other potholed surfaces are some streets in Bunder area, Bibi Alabi Rd, Nanthoor junction Rd, Karavali Circle Road etc etc. Anyone who has had the misfortune of commuting on these streets will testify what a great pain the ride is – literally – owing to the numerous potholes that punctuate the road. Potholes aren’t just a nuisance for drivers; they also constitute dangerous safety hazards that can produce substantial damage to vehicles, force drivers to veer suddenly in traffic, or even cause the driver to lose control of a vehicle after contact. The gaping streets can also damage a car’s alignment and suspension system.

While poor maintenance by road-owning agencies is the main reason behind potholes contributing to crashes, experts said there was lack of uniformity and no standard design for speed breakers on most roads. Apart from bad roads, most speed breakers on internal roads are “hugely dangerous”. None follow design, curvature and location when constructing speed breakers. In most cases, locals put up speed breakers. These are more dangerous for two-wheeler riders and passengers in three-wheelers, who are hardly protected. This has also exposed how such causes behind crashes and fatalities are largely neglected while preparing plans to improve road safety. Until road-owning agencies were held accountable for maintenance and booked for negligence, the menace of potholes won’t end. We have hardly any cases of any action taken against such negligent officials/employees.

Following are Images of the Road adjacent to Padua School that connects KPT-Bondel Road :

In conclusion, Potholes come as a surprise. Motorists are not able to cope with them. From a technical perspective, there is no dearth of knowledge or guidelines for road infrastructure to last for five to six years without any maintenance. It involves basic civil engineering. Instead of wasting time and energy in trying to implement senseless restrictions, governments should focus on issues that are literally life-and-death for citizens. For accidents/injuries/deaths caused caused by potholes, governments must compensate the families of victims and hold contractors, government officials and ministers criminally liable for sub-standard roads. There is huge corruption in the award of road contracts, and it’s time those responsible for (a) looting taxpayers money and (b) killing people were brought to book. Once repaired, a road has to last at least five to six years. If they don’t, the officers concerned should be penalized. Also, please remember that it’s those on two-wheelers who are at greatest risk.

Why is portion of this road concretized? Because there are couple of apartment projects coming up in that spot. Absolutely a Corrupt idea!

The city crews should take quick action to fix the potholes before they get deep and worse — thereby avoiding severe driving hazards and vehicle damages. So, while waiting for these roads to be restored for a smooth ride, just brace yourself because it’s once again pothole season in Mangaluru. And for sure, the MCC authorities will not take any action, until a major accident takes place, due to potholes? Until then bear with the potholes or curse someone at the MCC— and still keep driving safe. And just avoid taking “the above mentioned roads” if you can ?

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