Broken, missing manholes a threat to commuters in city

Charanjit Singh Teja
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 14

The damaged manhole covers are posing threat to the lives of commuters in the city. Some of the manholes are sans cover at all. Despite being aware of it, Municipal Corporation (MC) officials continue to look the other way.

Instead of coming up with a concrete solution, MC employees or residents put traffic cones or other material in such manholes as a warning sign to highlight these vulnerable points. Such spots can be easily spotted on a number of roads, including those in Rose Avenue, Brahm Nagar and Hall Gate.

Residents say that several road accidents occur every year due to the missing manhole covers, but local authorities have not woken up to address the problem. Apart from the posh localities, there are countless manholes with missing or broken covers. Minor mishaps due to open manholes are generally not reported.

Also the manholes covers protruding above the road surface pose a great risk to the lives of motorists, mostly two-wheeler riders. During rainy days when the roads are inundated, two-wheeler riders are unable to spot such manholes due to which mishaps take place.

A resident, Mukesh Kumar, of Rose Avenue said, “The MC must ensure that manhole covers are taken care of.”

Another resident in Brahm Nagar said, “The concrete slab on one of the manholes caved in a few days ago. The MC parked a trolley on it to avert accidents. The sewerage is also choked.”

An MC junior engineer, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “We have initiated the work to repair the manhole slab in Rose Garden.”