‘Never Requested Mangaluru City Corporation to Erect So Many Speed Breakers in the City’- DCP (Crime & Traffic) B P Dinesh Kumar
Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Corporation has erected several speed breakers on roads (road humps) in Jeppu and surrounding areas without there being any request by the Mangaluru City Traffic Police. For instance, there are a total of 18 road humps within a 1.5 km distance from Mulihithlu Junction to Goodshed Road Railway level crossing via Bolar and Hoige Bazar, including eight newly erected ones. Similarly, two new road humps are erected to make it a total of three on a 100-metre stretch abutting Gujjarakere in Jeppu. MCC officials said as many as 30 new road humps are laid at places suggested by local police stations.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) B.P. Dinesh Kumar, however, denied police stations suggesting new road humps in their limits. “The Police Commissioner had sent to MCC a list of places where the road humps markings are worn out, where road humps needed white paint, zebra crossing and installation of sign boards for ‘no horn zone’. There is no question of police stations suggesting new road humps,” he said.
Social activist G.K. Bhat mused the rationale for having new road humps, including the eight between Mulihithlu Junction and Goodshed Road Railway Level crossing. “These road humps are erected to meet the demands of a few residents and they have nothing to do with preventing accidents,” he said. The Police Commissioner had sent a list of 128 road humps across the city to the MCC Commissioner where markings are either worn out or absent or humps need to be repaired in December second week. He had also sent a list of 48 major junctions where stop lanes and zebra crossings needed to be marked.
A list of six areas where 39 “No horn zone” boards needed to be installed was also sent. A list of potholes that required MCC attention too was sent earlier. MCC Commissioner C.L. Anand said pothole filling is taken up under six packages and the work is on. He said road humps repair, white marking of humps, laying zebra crossing, and installation of ‘no horn zone’ boards is taken up at a cost of Rs 28 lakhs.
But if you look around the City, where speed breakers are really needed, there are none. And even though a bunch of the earlier speed breakers have the colour (black & white) worn out and few damaged, no one has bothered to repair or paint them. In many areas when the road widening was done, the labourers had sliced the side portion of the road humps, and left them unattended, and motorists, especially two-wheeler riders zoom through the cut portion of the road humps, putting the pedestrian’s lives in danger.
