Totally Nonsense & Not Smart! Digging Newly Constructed Roads for Drainage or Utility Work
Mangaluru: Even though on Friday, 14 February 2020, a couple of print and electronic medias had highlighted the digging of the newly concretized stretch of nearly 1.4 km road from Kankanady Junction until Koti Chennaya Circle, near Nandigudda, Mangaluru, but Team Mangalorean had already highlighted these issues long ago through various articles, to name a few: Not Smart! Digging Newly Constructed Roads for Drainage or Water Pipeline Work; Not Smart! Digging for Laying Water Pipeline Just after New Concrete Rd was Constructed,Not Smart! Digging Newly Constructed Roads for Drainage or Water Pipeline Work,Not Smart! Digging Newly Constructed Roads for Drainage or Water Pipeline Work, and many more ( refer the links below this report), but on the request of a senior citizen woman residing on Kankanady-Valencia Road, Team Mangalorean is once again highlighting the stupidity and non-planning work of the so-called Smart City Engineers, other officials, who have been digging the newly constructed road, thereby spending taxpayers money, due to their stupidity and carelessness.
I have said it in the past, and will say it again that -“One thing for sure, that you’ll all agree with me is that-Digging of roads/streets/bye-lanes/footpaths will never stop in Mangaluru no matter what- and we have seen it in the past and will see it in future too. Mangaluru City Corporation, PWD, MESCOM, Telephone Co’s, Contractors, building owners, etc- they all dig the roads/streets, footpaths etc. There is no end to this- and once they dig, and after their work is done, they leave the dug-up area in a shabby condition. And no action is taken against them, by the concerned authorities. For a City which has been selected as one of the “Smart City” of India, it seems like we are lacking “Smart People”, right from MCC Officials, Engineers, Contractors, and other District authorities who are simply wasting taxpayers hard-earned money on projects, which once completed have to be re-done or new roads have to be dug up to lay drainage or construct new manholes or address some water problems.
Just look at the sad situation of few of the newly constructed concrete roads which were done just a few months ago- and due to poor planning during the construction and completion of the project- now they are digging the road to construct a new manhole or drainage or water line related issues. Why wasn’t the construction of the new manhole done while the road was being constructed, or issues regarding the drainage or water pipeline checked earlier- are some of the questions that many SMART citizens are asking- but unfortunately getting the right answers from the concerned authorities is all in vain. Because you won’t get the right answers because they screwed up the plans and are guilty?
Lately, with many apartments and high rise buildings that have come up in Mangaluru, there has been a need to construct new manholes or proper drainage or water lines- but nothing is planned properly when the construction of a new road is taken up. If you look at all the newly constructed roads are dug up within few weeks or few months after they are completed either to drainage pipes, manholes etc. And this creates a lot of inconveniences to the motorists to move around these dug up sites. But it seems like no one cares about it.
Among many other new concrete roads done recently, the one newly concretized road from Father Muller Hospital until Nandigudda Circle, Mangaluru has been dug at quite a few places, and it could be dug in few other places soon-you never know. Sources reveal that this new road project was undertaken by Mangaluru City Corporation to develop it into a model one at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore, and the residents in this area and also the motorists who ply on this stretch of the road are raising their voices and fuming, since the new road has been dug several times, and it is learnt that nearly Rs 12.8 lakhs has been spent for digging/road cutting after concretization. Not Smart and also Totally Nonsense!
This education hub is now like a middle-aged bachelor, with the government and MCC trying to dress him up with all sorts of cosmetics while the vital aspects are being sidelined. With half the city being dug up for one or the other reason the traffic appear to be going haywire while the pedestrians are scampering for safety. Mangaluru has a dubious reputation for being the most unsafe city for pedestrians. Nobody has investigated into that so there is no official document available for gauging the level of discomfort for the pedestrian but the way the city is dug up at present it is evident to the naked eye the violation of safety of pedestrians.
Ms Fernandes, aged 76 residing on Kankanady-Valencia road speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “Since few months they have dug this new concrete road so many times, I feel it is simply waste of our tax money, due to negligence and lack of planning by the MCC engineers and other concerned officials. Why can’t they check into existing problems of water pipelines, electricity, drainage and utility cables etc before they had started concreting this road? Whenever a new apartment comes up on this stretch of the road, the old drainage/manhole/water pipeline are replaced, thus resulting in digging of the road. Look at all the damages done to a new road by digging, and this will also result in wear and tear on vehicles plying on this road. Every time I ask, the engineer or contractor at the site, the answer I get is that they are fixing a leaky water pipeline, and sometimes, it is the drainage/manhole issue. My question to these engineers/officials is that why proper planning was not done prior to the concretization of the road-why weren’t the issues of old water pipelines/drainage/etc checked before this road was redone. Why are the citizens keeping quite? They should raise their voices against such carelessness and negligence of MCC authorities, wasting our hard-earned money”.
Not only when these new roads are dug, other than wastage of money, they even pose danger to motorists, especially at night, since the dug area lack any warning signs or reflective lights. School children, young and old folks, ladies and gentlemen are the most susceptible. They come onto the road to escape the dug up areas endangering their safety.It is a carnage out there. With the roads dug up here in there, some could claim that they have sent people to the hospital with injuries, some others would state that they have claimed lives! Even today, when there is so much conversation about road safety, and despite pedestrians being at the fore of this conversation, many roads are not safe either due to construction or debris left after construction. Not “Smart” for an upcoming “Smart City?”. DO YOU AGREE WITH ME? I HOPE SO!
Also Read Related Articles:
- Digging Never Stops in M’luru! Now It’s MCC Turn to lay Water Pipe
- Workers Act of Ignorance! They Dig, Cut the Pipe, and Leave Water Flow for Hours
- Mangaluru: In Shambles! Digging Never Stops on City’s Arya Samaj Road
- Digging Never Stops in Mangaluru! Now It’s MESCOM’s Turn
- Smart City’getting ‘Very Smart’? Digging New Concrete Roads Every Now & Then
- Digging Never Stops on City’s Newly Made Roads
- Not Smart! Digging Newly Constructed Roads for Drainage or Water Pipeline Work