Kadri Road in Shambles? Residents & Commuters are Breathing Dust

Kadri Road in Shambles? Residents & Commuters are Breathing Dust

Mangaluru: Here is yet another shabby and irregular project undertaken by Smart Officials of the Smart Project of Smart City-Mangaluru. Right from Bharath Beedi Works Pvt Ltd until City Hospital on Kadri Road, the life for the residents in that area, and for those motorists and commuters who take that stretch of road has become a nightmare- and not only that, with the slow construction of drainage work going on, and huge piles of mud being dumped on side of this road, has resulted in people breathing (Mud) dust- and many have shown signs of health issues. But does anyone care about it, either in the District Administration, MCC or other concerned depts – ABSOLUTELY NO!

Taking up a drainage project, when monsoons are nor far away, is one of the stupidest planning undertaken by the Smart City Development committee. Another thing is that no one knows where the drainage has started and where it ends, by looking at the plan. I need to ask one question- When a drainage construction is started, would you rather move an electric pole obstructing the drainage work path FIRST, or remove it after the drainage work is done? If you are a smart person, you would remove the Electric pole first, then carry on with the drainage work. But that’s not happening here- wherever there is an electric pole, the drainage work stops there- and continues further after the pole location. So dumb!

Similarly is the case, if you look at some of the finished walkways/footpaths or drainage works that have been completed recently- you will see electric poles or other obstructions in the middle of these footpaths/drainage, which has been causing inconveniences for pedestrians. Someone learns by their past mistakes, but not in the case of the people undertaking development works in the City-they keep on doing the blunders over and over again. And once they start a project, which may take a few months, but that’s not the case here- the Engineers, contractors and laborers take their own precious time in finishing a simple project, thereby creating hardships for the businessmen and commuters.

Whom to complain about this situation? If complaints are made to the higher authorities, they are more corrupt and crooks than the people below them. It’s sad, such kind of world that we are living in, where officials responsible for the development of the City are lazy and corrupt. Nothing much we can do, I guess. The only one to hear our grievances in these civic issues is God, and He has to take action. Ramesh, who runs a shop in this construction area is a worried man due to this slow drainage work. For the past few months, the ongoing drainage work has become a problem for the residents and shop owners in the vicinity. Now all the dust is coming inside houses and shops, making it difficult to even sit outside for many. There is no end to these problems it seems like. Ramesh has been suffering from cough and breathing problem, as he already has a history of dust allergy. “I have been struggling to breathe some fresh air, all I am breathing is this dust,” he claims.

The drainage work and dusty roads have made peoples’ commuting worse. In spite of the ongoing work, motorists still park their vehicles on this stretch of the road, making it dangerous for pedestrians to walk, due to heavy traffic- and the traffic cops are doing nothing to ease out this safety hazard. Yes, the digging is ‘unavoidable’, as all the projects involved are important infrastructure works, but in the meantime, care and concern of the commuters should also be kept in mind, which is very much lacking. Besides the dust, the poor sewage and drainage system has become another headache for the people. The MLA’s and other politicians talk about free Wi-Fi and making Mangaluru an IT hub but fail to provide basic amenities to its citizens. When we ask them to clear the construction mud/debris from the road, they always give excuses that they will come in one hour and clear the road, but never do anything. With no other option, people still have to walk on these roads even though it is difficult to commute.

The piles of mud have been dumped by the roadside few weeks ago, and no one knows when the work will start- and when vehicles zoom by, the mud particles fly in the air, and its the residents living nearby and people walking who have to breathe these dust particles. Team Mangalorean on behalf of the citizens of Mangaluru and others who use this stretch of road where the unscientific and hazardous drainage work is going on, request the concerned persons behind this project to speed up the work, and make sure safety guidelines are followed in the interest of the commuters and motorists.

In conclusion, all I can say is that just like other drainage works that are completed in the City, which are incomplete, irregular and not up to the standard, this project will also add to the credit- wait till the FIRST heavy downpour in few weeks or months, STREETS will be still FLOODED?- and I am quite positive- and DC will quickly give a day holiday to the schools, so that no young lives are lost in the drowning- and also to hide the shabby and bad work of the so-called Smart Engineers, Smart Contractors and rest of the Smart Officials of the Smart City-Mangaluru Development??

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