‘Unfinished drain work a hazard for public’

Frequently overflowing manholes another menace, says Mayor

October 05, 2017 07:14 am | Updated 07:34 am IST - VIJAYAWADA

A file photo of a manhole on Pinnamaneni Polyclinic Road gushing out sewage in Vijayawada.

A file photo of a manhole on Pinnamaneni Polyclinic Road gushing out sewage in Vijayawada.

Mayor Koneru Sridhar on Wednesday said the abandoned work sites of the Storm Water Drain (SWD) project in various areas of the city had turned dangerous for the citizens.

Reviewing the progress of the work worth ₹461 crore taken up by the L&T, he said the work at 26 sites had been apparently stalled and the dug up parts had been posing threat to motorists and pedestrians after rainfall. “Further delay in the completion of the works might leave public in worse situations. Debris on the roads has been causing traffic issues and water stagnation is causing mosquito menace,” the Mayor said asking authorities to begin new work only after completing the ongoing ones.

“The firm has promised to engage about 2,000 works every day but there are not even 1,000 working daily,” Mr. Sridhar said. On the request of the Mayor, the L&T representatives gave assurance in writing, in the presence of the Public Health Department (PHD) superintending engineer, that all the ongoing projects would be completed before November 15, 2017. Mr. Sridhar warned that any further negligence would be reported to the Minister and asked the PHD officials to take up the delay with the L&T head office.

UGD mess up due to hotels, hospitals

In another review meeting with the officials of medical and health officers, Mr. Sridhar said the frequently overflowing manholes became a cause of concern for the citizens and blamed hospitals and hotels which were letting plastic waste into the UGD system. He said the problem had become persistent in every municipal division. He asked the officials to come up with special arrangements and plans to overcome the problem. He also asked sanitary inspectors to follow G.O. No. 279 and impose fine on heads of sanitation worker groups if members did not turn up for work.

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