MCC Fix Danger Roads, ‘Cause Motorists Becoming Victims of Pothole Menace

By
Alfie Dsouza, Team Mangalorean.
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MCC Fix Danger Roads, ‘Cause Motorists Becoming Victims of Pothole Menace

Mangaluru: Compare to all the MCC Mayors that we had so far, the present Mayor Kavitha Sanil is doing one heckuva a job is solving many civic issues that our “Smart City” Mangaluru is plagued with- except for her slow action/concern towards the pathetic/dilapidated/pothole-ridden streets of Kudla- which have resulted in many accidents, some resulting in severe injuries but never reported or highlighted by media. It’s getting worse out there as days go by, with the pothole menace at every nook and corner of the City, and not just on Bendorewell-Kankanady Pumpwell Road or Alake Road as highlighted by many sources. Four days ago I had published an article about the ill-fated pothole accidents (Ref: Stop Blame Game! Concerned Authorities Should be Sued for Pothole Injuries or Deaths?), and unfortunately four days later, I was a victim of one such potholed road menace in Mangaluru. But luckily I escaped from severe injuries or could have R.I.P.?

This Pothole Knocked me off my Two-wheeler on Bendoorwel/Kankanady, Pumpwell Road

Riding my two-wheeler down the Bendorewell-Kankanady Pumpwell road, which was totally dark (none of the street lights working) around 4.30 am in the morning to catch my train to Goa, I was knocked off my scooter due to a mega pothole sitting right in the middle of the road, opposite to Ever Green Restaurant-Kankanady. I was lucky to escape with no severe injuries except for minor bruises on my leg and palm. This accident could have been fatal, since a speeding Nandini Milk van was right behind me, and the attentive driver avoided hitting my fallen “Soul” on the road. The driver was very kind enough (unlike other ignorant and rash drivers) who got down from his truck, enquired if everything was ok. I proceeded further once again on my journey to catch the train, on the potholed-ridden stretch of road all the way till Kankanady Pumpwell junction and beyond.

My humble request and question to the Mayor and other MCC engineers, why aren’t they taking any initiatives/action in fixing all these dilapidated/pothole-ridden roads in the city. Is it because they are not worried about the life of the citizens? Is it because that they all travel in cars/four wheeler vehicles that they are not bothered about the hardship and hassles faced by two-wheeler riders? Is it because that they can play the blame game on the motorists and not the concerned people who are actually responsible for bad roads? Is it because……….?? Oh well, there could be many reasons that the City authorities may try to get away from such civic issues, when accidents or calamities happen.

Even though no deaths have been reported due to pothole accidents that take place every single day in the City, but many two-wheeler riders have been injured- but there is no record of these pothole accident-because the injured persons don’t complain nor file a case. Pinning responsibility on engineers and contractors for road accidents, it seems, is as difficult as imagining the city without potholes. So, who is to blame for the pitiable condition of the city’s roads, which sometimes leads to deaths? Well, it just seems to be a case of passing the buck. It’s only after an accident that you’ll notice MCC officials or traffic policemen filling potholes with concrete mix.

Even after a protest was held few days ago by the residents and business owners on the above stretch of the road regarding the dilapidated road near Bendorewell (which we see every year during monsoon time), still MCC has not taken any action-even though the weather has been good since last few days. They always blame it on the weather that rains are hindering their work. If it’s raining, they cannot take up the work. Like one local MLA had mentioned earlier that it is a hard job to concrete the said road since bunch of water pipelines are situated below- and if the road is concreted it will be a hassle to break it in case there is a broken water pipe. Oh well, at least for a while till a proper plan is chalked out, why can’t the MCC do some good patch work in filling these potholes, so that motorists won’t be harmed.

When there is a death or accident due to bad roads, the road contractor/MCC should be held responsible and cases booked against the engineers concerned. Motorists who try to avoid potholes and meet with accidents cannot be blamed. After all, they know that if they ride on the pothole, they will fall. Despite the literally gaping evidence of negligence by civic agencies, the police continue to treat their engineers and contractors as accused number two or three in such cases, while the motorists or bikers, who suffer the tragic consequences of their callousness, take the brunt of the blame. While the mushrooming of potholes in the city is causing many accidents, especially of two-wheeler riders,(although there had been no fatalities) the city police have found an easy way out by penalizing the riders. The provisions that could be used to accuse a person of culpable homicide need a re look.

The problem with our MCC here is they have no proper emergency response team to fill up potholes regularly. And even though the Mayor directs her officials to follow up in rectifying the civic issues, unfortunately they sleep on their jobs. They wait for the number of potholes to increase and then calls for tenders. Even then the potholes are not filled unscientifically. It is a huge scam. Every time there is road cutting in Mangaluru, neither the PWD, Mescom, other utility companies seem to be equipped to restore them and the MCC too ends up either doing a shoddy job or not doing it at all.

Sadly it seems like no civic agency concerned is responsible for accidents caused by the poor condition of roads. Considering the increasing number of incidents, the civic agencies should have a huge responsibility. They need to not only fix the potholes, but also footpaths. The callousness of government authorities in the face of loss of life due to potholes, open drains, loose wires and so on, appalling. There is zero regard for human life. Post every mishap no one seems accountable. The way out could be to identify the contractors responsible for such accidents/deaths and ban them from bidding for government contracts for five years. Also, the concerned government engineer/ superior should be suspended pending investigation, and booked under sections relevant for causing such accidents due to negligence.

Finally, before I make my humble request on behalf of the motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, I once again compliment her for her quick actions on many other civic issues, including her courageous raids on illegal beauty parlours/massage outfits, shops running without trade licences- and literally beg Mayor Kavitha Sanil to spot inspect some of the grievous pothole-ridden roads, like how CM Siddaramaiah did in Bengaluru, and direct her officials to fix the roads immediately-before someone gets injured or loses his life-just because of the negligence of MCC. Thanking the Mayor in anticipation!

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3 Comments

  1. when local media show news and no. of potholes and no. mosquitoes in UP and bihar and make story in state as though we are sitting in heaven…this kind of thing bound to happen…media first concentration should be on local issue instead on other places

  2. good job Mr. Alfie…request to highlight BUNDER to KUDROLI pathetic Road, its unbearable to travel in this road. Since a year no one is bothered to repair or complaint the condition of this worst stretch.

  3. I really appreciate the efforts put in by Alphy Dsouza in highlighting many civic issues- even though the concerned MCC officials and other dist. authorities are lazy in rectifying the pending issues- but Dsouza’s reports will surely make them feel guilty of their negligence/ignorance/carelessness etc etc

    Good job Alphy and Mangalorean.com for being non-bias and highlighting certain and important issues which haunt the citizens everyday- hope your reports will make an impact and bring positive results. Keep up the good work-Team Mangalorean.

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