Gaping manhole poses threat to road users

An incomplete manhole on an otherwise good road could turn out to be quite dangerous. When one moves fast, particularly on a two-wheeler.

July 18, 2012 01:12 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 12:20 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

An unfinished manhole sticks out on Sampat Vinayaka temple road bang opposite the Municipal Commissioner's bungalow in Visakhapatnam. Photo: K.R.Deepak

An unfinished manhole sticks out on Sampat Vinayaka temple road bang opposite the Municipal Commissioner's bungalow in Visakhapatnam. Photo: K.R.Deepak

Struggling to complete the underground drainage and bus rapid transit system (BRTS), Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has several roads to account for. But movement on the arterial roads has been restricted or traffic diverted in view of the flyover and subway work at Asilmetta for a long time. Several buses were diverted via the Sampat Vinayaka temple road.

In spite of the road being widened, the increase in traffic makes it chock-a-block. Besides, the road has become quite upmarket what with a number of malls, jewellery malls and a pub dotting it, it attracts lot of traffic.

An incomplete manhole on an otherwise good road could turn out to be quite dangerous. When one moves fast, particularly on a two-wheeler, it is difficult to control at the last minute and the rough patch could prove the undoing of the unwary driving a scooter and motorcycle. With a number of gearless scooters and mopeds on the road controlling oneself in the last minute tests the driving skills. If someone driving a car decides to jam the brakes in the last second, the consequences could be much worse.

Ironically, the rough patch is opposite the bungalow of the Municipal Commissioner. There is another nearby. One might say the corporation is treating everyone on an equal footing. What about the lurking danger?

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