City Advocate Sends Notice to MCC & Other Concerned Officials about Unscientific Speed-Breakers

City Advocate Kumara Satyanarayan Sends Notice to Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) CC & Other Concerned Officials ( MP Nalin Kumar Kateel; District Minister In-Charge Kota Srinivas Poojary; MLA Vedavyas Kamath; MLA Dr. Bharath Shetty MLA) about Unscientific Plastic/Fibre Speed-Breakers, on behalf of Citizens and Motorists of Mangaluru.

Mangaluru: Following close on its heels, after Team Mangalorean had published an article (Ref: Caution! Unscientific Plastic/Fibre Speed-Breakers are nothing but “Life Breakers”?) on 29 August 2020, it is now learnt that a City Advocate few days ago had already sent a notice about the unsafe and unscientific plastic/Fibre speed-breakers to Mangaluru City Corporation, and other concerned authorities, including MP Nalin Kumar Kateel; District Minister In-Charge Kota Srinivas Poojary; MLA Vedavyas Kamath; MLA Dr. Bharath ShettyMLA) about Unscientific Plastic/Fibre Speed-Breakers, on behalf of Citizens and Motorists of Mangaluru. We need to commend City advocate and legal consultant Kumara Satyanarayana of Mangaluru for his efforts in trying to remove these hazardous speed breakers, which are “LIFE BREAKERS”, more than “SPEED BREAKERS”?

Advocate Kumara Sathyanarayan

Following is the copy of the notice sent by advocate Kuamra Satyanarayana :

To, The Commissioner Mangalore City Corporation; The Managing Director-Mangalore Smart City Limited; The Deputy Commissioner of DK; The Additional Chief Secretary to Govt Urban Development Dept; The Secretary General of Indian Roads Congress New Delhi.
Sirs, Sub: Statutory pre-litigation notice demanding immediate action for removal of residuals of the plastic / fibre [yellow black] speed breakers and the sharp steel / iron fixture residuals found on the streets and roads of the city of Mangalore, within the territorial jurisdiction of the City Corporation of Mangalore.

1. At the outset, I would like to reproduce the relevant excerpts of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 for the purpose of ready reading and ready reference as hereunder.

2 ) Vesting of public streets and their appurtenances in corporation.- (1) All public streets in the corporation reserved under the control of the Government, with the pavements, stones and other materials thereof and all work materials, implements and other things provided for such streets, all sewers, drains, drainage works, tunnels and culverts whether made at the cost of the corporation fund or otherwise, in or alongside or under any street, whether public or private, and all works, materials, implements and other things appertaining thereto and all trees not being private property growing on public streets or by the side thereof, shall vest in the corporation. Maintenance and repair of streets. – The corporation shall cause the public streets to be maintained and repaired and may make all improvements thereto which are necessary or expedient for the public safety or convenience.

2. Amidst the uncertainty and the Covid-19 Pandemic rampage, I would like to draw the attention of you all to the subject above mentioned issue, which might look trivial, but has its own serious implications on the life and property of the general public, the residents and the users of public road in the City of Mangaluru. I do not want this issue to add up to the misery and catastrophe already happening around us.

3. As expressly stated and as per the provisions [Section 265 and Section 266] of the KMC Act, 1976, all the public streets under the control of the Government, with the pavements, stones etc., are vested in the local authority, the City Corporation of Mangalore. It is the bounden duty and the responsibility of the City Corporation and its officials / office bearers to maintain the public streets, make repairs and make all improvements and necessary development for the usage of general public and the citizens.

4. However, it is saddening as well as shocking to see the poor state of affairs and the poorly maintained roads and streets in the city of Mangaluru, within the territorial jurisdiction of the Corporation of the City of Mangalore. Adding to the poorly laid surfaces, the residuals of the plastic / fibre speed breakers and the sharp steel / iron fixture which were used to fix the said fibre speed breaker on the streets and roads are dangerously posing threat and hazard to the users of the road. The City Corporation and its officials have miserably failed to discharge the statutory duty of timely maintenance and repair of the public streets and roads keeping in mind the safety of the users of such roads. It is very well known to all of us that the Indian Road Congress’ guideline shall be strictly adhered by the authorities while erecting the speed breakers. However, it is saddening to know that even the apex body ‘The Indian Road Congress’ is mum and quite when it comes to the aspect of removal of the residuals of such plastic / fibre yellow – black speed breakers.

5. It is nevertheless to mention that the plastic / fibre speed breakers installed at certain prominent junctions and streets of the city of Mangaluru have had come off / peeled off due to the movement of heavy vehicles and buses on them. Even though the City Corporation and its officials have taken steps to put up and erect speed bumps made of tar and bitumen at such location where the plastic / fibre speed breakers has got peeled off, it is very much necessary to specifically mention here that the residuals of those plastic / fibre speed breakers and the sharp steel / iron fixtures used to fix the said plastic speed breakers are not yet completely removed from the streets. These residual objects are sharp and honed and cause damage to the users of the road, especially the two wheelers and the small cars.

These residual sharp objects found on the road and streets not only pierce the tyres of the vehicle and cause the tyres to burst open, but also make the two wheelers to lose control and tend to fall or cause accident and mishaps on the street causing serious injury and damage to the life, limb and property. I have attached the photograph from the street at Lalbagh – in front of Mangala Stadium for the purpose of better understanding. Further, I have listed out at the end of this notice, all such locations that I have come across wherein such residual parts of the plastic / fibre speed breakers and the sharp fixtures are found causing danger and are posing serious threat to the users of the road.

I request all of you to specifically to have a keen eye on the said locations specifically and also call upon addressee No. 1, No. 2 and 3 of you to conduct a detailed survey of such locations in the City of Mangaluru where these residual parts of the plastic / fibre speed breakers and the sharp fixtures are found and take necessary and appropriate action to get the same removed at once.

6. Further, as a resident of the city of Mangaluru, and as a user of the streets and roads of the city, I myself have been the victim of the same twice, once in the month of March, 2020 and now again a week ago in the month of August, 2020. The sharp residuals of the fibre speed breaker / hump or may be the steel / iron nails which is used to fix the said speed breakers has pierced the tyre of my car twice as said to supra at a location called Lalbagh in the city of Mangaluru. I commute daily on the said road to work. I am lucky and thankful that as I was in a four wheeler, I was able to stop and steer to safety of my vehicle. The incident has cost me money and time, but no bodily injury.

I had to spend half a day of my working hours for the purpose of replacement of tyre, and a set of new tyres cost me a sum of Rs. 9000/- (Rs. Nine Thousand). I have also attached the bills for the expenditure that I had to incur to replace new tyres to my car to support my statement and claim. But, I have not suffered any bodily injury or so of whatsoever. 7. Well, the situation might not be similar always and especially for a person who is riding a two wheeler. A sudden puncture or a tyre burst could be fatal and could cause serious injury to the life and limb of the rider. I would like to remind you about the fatalities caused by the unscientific humps / speed breakers that were erected on NH-206, particularly between Kadur and Shivamogga.

As per the reports there were nine major accidents in the said region which had severe casualties and fatalities, until the authorities cleared the said unscientific speed breakers. Further, I would like to make a reference to the case of N.D.M.C. vs Shri Chander Kishore Aggarwal [RSA No. 17/2009], wherein the Hon’ble Delhi High Court upheld the order of the trial court directing the Municipal Authority of Delhi to pay compensation of a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- to Chander Kishore Aggarwal, who had met with an accident due to the unscientific design and erection of hump / speed breakers.

8. What is further shocking is, this is not a new issue or a new problem that has cropped up.!! In fact these unscientific fibre speed breakers when installed in the year 2013, itself was a subject matter of discussion as unscientific installation had caused accidents in the city. Hence, the then Deputy Commissioner had ordered for removal of the same. But, alas, in the year 2017, the City Corporation of Mangaluru by conveniently forgetting the past was pleased to install these unscientific, non-durable plastic / fibre – black yellow speed breakers at certain locations of the City, of which a lot have been ripped off by the fast moving city bus, and the skeletal remains of the same are causing damage and harm to the users alike as stated to supra. These “speed breakers” has now turned into “back breaker” or “life breaker” as it poses serious threat and are potential hazard to the motorist, especially the mass who use two wheelers.

9. Please make a note that around 1000 deaths occur every year in the State of Karnataka due to unscientific speed breakers itself. Similarly, I hope, there should not be a separate list of casualties or fatalities caused by the hazardous sharp residuals of the fibre / plastic speed breakers. As we all know, the humps or the speed breakers should not cause accidents, but in our condition, the contrary is true. It is simply because; none of the authorities who ought to follow and adhere to the specifications and guidelines of the Indian Road Congress are doing so. The erection of the speed breakers and its removal is happening in a very haphazard manner.

Hence, owing to this situation, I specifically call upon the addressee no. 5, of you to look into this issue and take necessary actions in this regard. I request you to make necessary and suitable guidelines to be followed by the local authorities while erecting and removing such plastic / fibre speed breakers. It has to be made mandatory that, if any of the plastic / fibre speed breaker is removed or is peeled off, then appropriate steps has to be taken by the local authority to completely remove it without leaving behind any residuals or sharp edges or surfaces which would cause damage to the users of the road.

10. In light of the above narration and facts explained, I call upon all of you to: Take appropriate and necessary action to immediately remove such residual sharp objects of the speed breakers from the streets of the City of Mangaluru within seven days from the date of receipt of this notice; Specifically the Commissioner of City Corporation of Mangaluru to make good the loss / monetary loss incurred by me to a tune of Rs. 9,000/- by reimbursing the said amount within seven working days from the date of receipt of this notice. I hope that all of you would treat this notice in its proper perspective and do the needful as demanded herein above and oblige. However, if you fail to heed upon and act accordingly, make a note, I would be left with no option but to knock the doors of judiciary and move the court of law by instituting the necessary legal actions against all of you at your own risk and responsibility to all cost and consequence. I would also specifically mention here that this demand notice shall be construed as the pre-litigation statutory notice for all purposes.

11. I hope that you all being learned and senior officers having decorated offices would not give a chance to me to knock the doors of the court, but, instead would judiciously exercise your powers conferred upon you to heed and oblige the lawful and legally binding demands made herein.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely, Kumara Satyanarayana, Advocate.

For your information, these unscientific speed breakers are found at : On the street in front of Urwa Church – Centenary Hall; On the Mannagudda Warehouse Junction; On the Mannagudda warehouse road; Near Dongerkery Sri Venkatramana Temple; Next to Passport Seva Kendra; Near New Chitra Talkies Junction; In front of Karavali Maidan – Pabbas; In front of Capuchin Father’s-Jail road; In front of Bharath Beedi Works-Kadri Rd; In front of Colaco Hospital; State Bank Maidan Road; Bibi Alibi Road, State Bank; Bunder Road – State Bank; In front of Vivekananda Park – Bejai [Near More supermarket]; Bejai New Road – Marian Gardens, among others.

Copy to: [With a specific request to look into the matter and to take necessary action. 1) Nalin Kumar Kateel Member of Parliament; 2. Kota Srinivas Poojary Hon’ble District In-Charge Minister of D.K. District; Vedavyas Kamath MLA – Mangaluru City South Constituency; Dr. Bharath Shetty MLA – Mangaluru City North Constituency.

In response to the efforts put in by advocate Kumara Satyanarayan, Loy Albuquerque, the Managing Director of Summer Sands Resort-Ullal has said, “We should thank the Advocate who has taken the matter to the court about the speed breaker problem. Because this is is the only language that the departments will hear. The cry of the common man is like one crying in the wilderness. There will be no one to hear. I had brought another point very much before this, that is that there is a set standard for a speed breaker and also when and where it is to be placed and about the caution boards to be put. This is no rocket science, very simple. Just take these specifications and work on them. There is not a single of the so called speed breakers that are as per specifications. A very sad and desperate situation for a City which is poised to become a smart city. It looks like a bad joke ! But true. What are the so called engineers of the Corporation doing about it ? They are directly responsible for the misery, vehicular damage caused and danger to life and property . Hope our advocate will take the cue. All the best !”.

While yet another message from MCC Civic Group member states, “There is always a time and space when everyone wakes up to the hard reality that bites. A real blessing in disguise that this life and property threatening civic problem befell an advocate, who I believe is the lone ray of hope to emerge from behind dark clouds-Kumara Sathyanarayan and also Team Mangalorean reporter, who is representative of the 4th pillar of our democracy, that this critically important matter has come to light”.

Even though advocate Kumara Sathyanarayan had sent the notice to the concerned authorities on 12 August 2020, surprisingly none of the netas or officials have taken any action, in removing the unsafe speed-breakers. Seems like MLA Vedavyas Kamath is more concerned about the people who are willing to commit suicide, (where he has put up fencing on Nethravati bridge to stop people jumping into the river from the bridge), whereas, he has turned a blind eye towards these unsafe speed breakers, which are nothing but hazardous, resulting in injuries or death, who want to live?

Speaking to Team Mangalorean, advocate Kumara Sathyanarayan said that, he will wait few more days (normally 45 days after notice has been sent), if no action is taken either by MCC or district administration, he would file a case in the Court, and fight on behalf of the Citizens and motorists of Mangaluru, until case is won, and justice served. It’s hard to find such kind of advocates, who want to represent citizens in such civic issues- and we have found a GOOD SAMARITAN, who will fight the case, and put all these officials in shame!