Sunken Manholes Pose Danger to Two-Wheeler Riders

Sunken Manholes Pose Danger to Two-Wheeler Riders

Would Be ‘Smart City” don’t have ‘Smart Officials’ to fix the sunken Manholes which are hazardous to motorists, especially Two-Wheeler Riders

Mangaluru: Is there a fix to car-jarring deep manhole covers? Why are manhole covers no longer level with the road surface? The roads are full of these cavernous holes caused by manholes being several inches or more below the road.The main reason is the overlaying of a new black top without placing an extension or raising the crown and lid to the new street level. This happens due to poor planning on the city or state when overlaying new streets. And none of the city officials care about it until these manholes show danger to motorists-then they decide to fix them. These repeatedly caved in manholes leave craters on the surface, creating the endless hassle for road users and residents alike. Many times our lovely authorities look for just temporary fixes rather than finding permanent solutions.

I being a vehicle owner like many of you know that feeling of driving over those in ground manholes that have sunk well below the road surface. If PWD or our Mangaluru City Corporation would plan better when resurfacing our roads, maybe they could avoid these occurrences- but that’s not happening at all. Having sinking manholes right in the middle of the roads is kind of hazardous for motorists. Some of the manholes constructed a few years back are sinking than those which have been there during British time- so it’s poor planning and poor workmanship of the present contractors and labourers, the older ones have put the new kid on the block to shame.

The mother of all these caved in/sunk/tilting of lids is one near to Jimmy’s Super market-Kadri which has resulted in many two-wheelers tipped over and injured- but as of now no one has bothered to repair it. There is one more caved in manhole a few feet from this one (opp Jyohi Cycle shop-Kadri)- and this afternoon a scooter tipped over, and lady rider was injured. The problem is that these motorists/riders don’t complain, so our MCC honchos are least bothered about it. Why would they? Even MLA JR Lobo’s office is just a stone’s throw away from this manhole- also that how many times might have our MLA taken this road, but done nothing to fix this manhole??. The Mayor drives around in his official car, other MCC corporators/officials drive cars, it is the two-wheelers who suffer from these death traps?

According to a national daily newspaper, it was stated that during the years 2013-2014, nearly Rs 11.7 lakhs had been spent on repairing these manholes, but no use. Taxpayers money gone down the drain? Last year, nearly 181 manholes were reconstructed in 60 wards of MCC by spending Rs 8.7 lakhs. It’s the contractors who are minting money, who submit bills to MCC two or three times for a single manhole. MCC officials say that the placing lids and repair works of manholes have become a daily affair at the office. Oh well, then come out with a permanent solution to address and rectify this safety hazard issue.

Critics reveal that the poor quality basement is the reason for untimely damage of manholes. And these manholes are repaired over and over again, thereby contractors making all the profits. Some say the manholes get caved in when heavy vehicles pass on them, others say the foundation for manhole lids are weak as the cement mixture used is not according to the standard measure- so the edges break when heavy vehicles pass on them. And this leads to accidents, which unfortunately are not reported to the police nor MCC. No matter what, the repair work on his dangerous manholes need to be done at the earliest since they are causing inconvenience to the public. What are the MCC officials waiting for- someone to die due to these manholes?

In some areas, the entire structure, including the lid have sunk few inches below the surface leaving a huge gaping hole on the road. Not a pretty sight; pretty alarming, indeed. Although a few of these dilapidated manholes have been repaired, some in the process, but you can’t be sure that the problems there have been fully addressed. For, there are manholes that have caved in multiple times. Also, you fix a problem at one place and it erupts at another point. Sounds familiar, did you say? Isn’t it typical of how the government and local departments work here? But come on, it’s public hard earned money that is involved. You have a right to seek accountability.

But it should be possible to solve these sinking manholes problems. In this e-age, when we have solutions for some of the toughest technological issues, if simple things like manholes from caving in cannot be done, it can never be the fault of science or systems.The problem could be due to faulty design, poor planning and sub-standard execution of work or anything else. Something is seriously wrong with the way repairs are being handled which needs to be addressed. Instead of spending the few crores that have sanctioned already towards “Smart City” project on huge hoardings and advertising, the same money could be used to fix these manholes and also the many dilapidated/pot-holed roads that are currently existing in the City. Can somebody enlighten or awake the concerned MCC or PWD officials on these civic issues- Thank you!