Mangaluru City Corporation is yet to respond to the Traffic Police recommendations to put up scientific speed breakers for public safety in at least 25 places across the city even as the civic body is yet to fix several existing road humps that have remained broken for long.
Sources told The Hindu that the Traffic Police have regularly been sending recommendations to the corporation to put up speed breakers to avoid accidents as well as to ensure pedestrian safety. Both the civic body as well as the Traffic Police earlier used to put up plastic speed breakers much against the Indian Road Safety Congress rules just for the ease of putting them up. After the Lokayukta took serious objections to the move following public complaints, the authorities have stopped placing plastic speed breakers.
Since January, the Traffic Police have recommended speed breakers at many places, including near Mount Carmel School, Mary Hill; Ujjodi Mahakali Temple Road; Naguri Suryanarayana Temple Road; Suterpet Main Road; Ashok Nagar Cross Road; Kotekani Cross Road; near Royal Apartment, Casa Grand Apartment between Falnir Junction and Attavar Ananda Shetty Circle; near BGS School on the steep descent on Kavoor-Kulur Road; Chilimbi 4th Cross, Jeppinamogaru-Bajal Road; near Bianka Apartment on Bejai Main Road.
Broken speed breakers
Meanwhile, almost all speed breakers between Lady Hill Circle and Kottara Chowki on Kulur Ferry Road have remained in a broken down condition posing a grave threat to motorists for a very long time. Uneven surfaces and cut portions of these speed breakers not only confuse motorists but also result in their fall. These speed breakers have been put up at every junction of smaller roads with Kulur Ferry Road.
Corporation Commissioner S. Ajith Kumar Hegde said that he received the police recommendations for putting up speed breakers very recently and the work got delayed following elections to the council. “We will soon construct speed breakers as recommended,” he said.
Regarding the broken speed breakers, Mr. Hegde said they would be fixed at the earliest.
