The New Arya Samaj Road when Completed will be 2-in-1 : ROAD Cum FOOTPATH?

The New Arya Samaj Road when Completed will be 2-in-1 : ROAD Cum FOOTPATH?

Mangaluru: If you browse through our website on the history of Arya Samaj Road, Mangaluru, you’ll find a bunch of articles/reports on various issues pertaining to interlock, drainage, footpath, broken water pipes etc- it could be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records! But even after highlighting these civic issues, the so called ‘Smart People’ in Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) have not learnt by their mistakes, instead continue doing the same, to piss the public and encourage journos like me, to highlight their negligence and carelessness in media. Oh well, aren’t we part of ‘Incredible India’ or ‘Incredible Kudla’?

While Mangaluru is boasting of “Smart City” status, but at the moment it looks like there are not many “Smart” officials at the the helm of the developmental projects, who are not doing the work the right way-for example constructing new roads without a footpath/drainage- that’s absolutely not a “Smart” idea. Imagine constructing new roads and finishing them without any proper drainage or footpaths. Just look around the City, the old dilapidated roads have been dug, making way for new ones-and it’s a mess out there, and it has been a nightmare for motorists and pedestrians-since the work is carried on in slow pace. And in certain cases, only if the concerned authorities or contractors had used their common sense to build footpaths/drainage during the road construction work in the beginning itself-there would have been no need of breaking the roads now to make way for footpaths/drainage.

Not only the roads are dig-all the mud, rocks, other debris dug out have been piled up on the road occupying half of the space, causing inconvenience to the motorists and pedestrians. It’s a pathetic scene out there, and one should be ashamed that a growing city like Mangaluru has to be in that kind of situation. Seems like it is in a state where nobody is taking responsibility and being held accountable with the result that having decent footpaths is of least importance. While pedestrians have been demanding even and continuous footpaths at least along main roads, nobody in the MCC have addressed the issue.

If you look at the nearly 90% completed work on Arya Samaj Road, a well qualified civil engineer or a architect will laugh at the unscientific and non-standardized way that this road had been planned, and carried on. Earlier the the administration spent few crores or lakhs in putting up a brand new footpath along the stretch of this road- but it had some beating when the drainage or utility works were carried on- however, when this new project of resurfacing the old road into a concrete road, the entire footpath was destroyed- and it is totally vanished, except at some points you could see portion of the footpath- as remembrance or a souvenir? When contacted, the site engineer said that footpath will be laid and also the drainage- but looking at the present situation, there is hardly any space for footpath or drainage. All I could think is that, these officials might have some magical power to construct footpath or drainage under such present condition of this Road.

It is sad to note that Major roads have not been cared to make pedestrian-friendly footpaths on the roadside. The prime importance on roads is for pedestrians but sadly in our culture, that is missing. Many of the streets have been mauled. The gradient of footpaths should facilitate easy and comfortable walking for the elderly and handicapped, but sadly our footpaths are broken at several points and never help the pedestrians, and many pedestrians are getting hurt due to dilapidated footpaths. This shows that that the admin has shown utter callousness in constructing a perfect footpath.

Harried commuters in Mangaluru have been slowed down even further by the ongoing maintenance work on major roads across the city to make footpaths. With all the digging, piled up mud/debris etc etc it is very difficult for people/motorists to move around. It’s not just today. It has been going on for a long time now. Even businesses along such dug up roads have been affected by the road work,and one such road which is under extreme-makeover in the Milagres Cross Road- where all the businesses on that stretch of the road are facing hardship with no proper access for their customers.

The vision of the road project is long-term and aims to avoid repeated digging up of roads by different civic agencies. The hope is that the roads will not be dug up again for years as different agencies are meant to be coordinating to finish the laying of pipes and cables that are needed during the during this project. While it is testing the patience of commuters, the project does have its supporters. There should be a new design of roads which are called integrated roads…well-designed footpaths for pedestrians. But there are the delays in the project due to the “contractors not doing an optimal job” as also the lack of “close synchronisation in terms of various agencies in the government.

And while authorities claim that the city will soon have world-class roads but citizens can’t help wishing that they don’t have to suffer dug up roads. And finally, when this Arya Samaj Road is open for movement of motorists and public- it will be a 2-in-1 invention : ROAD cum FOOTPATH? But walk with caution.

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