Dug Up Road Work Near Entrance of Unity Hospital Puts Patients & Visitors at Risk
Mangaluru: A Engineer or for that matter, a contractor with common sense would not take up road construction work during daytime busy hours of a hospital, where a large number of patients and visitors come to the hospital- and when a large dug portion of the road lies right at the entrance of a hospital with no proper barricading or safety signs, will put the patients and visitors in danger of lives. And this location is right at the entrance of UNITY HOSPITAL, Falnir, Mangaluru, where the work started a couple of weeks ago, and the progress of the work going on at a slow pace has made the lives of the people and also the hospital staff miserable, where they have to wade through the unscientific construction work.
Instead of carrying on with the work with added extra hours, the engineer/contractor is taking their own time with not many workers at the site. Only a small team of workers are at the helm of the work, thereby delaying completion. Meantime, commuters are facing hardships due to this slow and shabby work. No doubt, that the travel on this Pathetic VAS LANE stretch Is akin to a Ride On A ‘Camel’s‘ Back- and now this road construction right at the entrance of Unity Hospital, has made travel much worse. Just Bumpy!
While the MLA and Mangaluru City Corporation are busy with remaining roads and Circles, they have turned a Blind Eye to the Pathetic and half-finished work on this Lane. Travelling on a half-finished road work is a nightmare if you are not cautious- your vehicle, especially a two-wheeler, could land into the deep ditches, left with no barricades or caution signs. Once a nice looking VAS LANE layered with interlock bricks a few years ago, at present it is very shameful to explain, however, if you describe the condition of this stretch of the Lane, it is nothing but in SHAMBLES, PATHETIC and very DISGRACEFUL, and DISASTROUS?
This morning (Friday) a two-wheeler rider taking a woman as a pillion-rider and entering Unity Hospital had a miraculous escape when his bike skidded right near the construction zone, but luckily he didn’t have fallen into the dug-up area, if not, he and the woman could have landed on the hospital beds with severe injuries. Such is the dangerous situation in this construction zone, and none of the concerned people handling this work have taken any precautions in preventing hazards to the people’s lives. A large number of people, including doctors, nurses and other hospital staff passing by this dangerous zone are putting their lives at risk.
Devaraj, the General Manager (Operations) at Unity Hospital speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” The more we clean and keep our premises and inside of the hospital tidy, it gets dirty now and then, with dust, sand and mud carried by the footwear of the people, walking past the construction zone. Many have complained about breathing problems, inhaling the pollution from the road work, and have taken medication. Moving in and out of the hospital has been a treacherous task with the ongoing of this road work, which is also going at a slow pace. The area ward corporator should take the initiative in seeing that the work is done faster, rather than delaying and putting us into inconveniences and hardships”.
It’s simply chaos at the moment driving or riding in this zone, and there has been traffic congestion all the time, with the mess left behind by the incomplete work. Does anyone care about it? NO! Hard-earned tax-payers money is wasted on bad planning of roads, footpaths, drainage etc. Yes, in Mangaluru lately we have been seeing new roads being constructed-the road widening was proposed as a solution to the traffic congestion in this growing city with lots of traffic and commuters. Roads are so wretched that helpless residents can only make light of the misery by creating pothole-counting face-offs and crater-measuring contests. But when they decide to build new roads, they are not planned properly.
Driving or riding on Vas Lane is like an obstacle course. Drivers keep swerving and manoeuvring to make sure they miss the broken interlocks. Anyone who has had the misfortune of commuting on this Lane will testify what a great pain the ride is owing to the numerous potholes/broken interlocks that punctuate the road. I bet a ride on this stretch is akin to a ride on a ‘camel’s back’- just bumpy! The city crews should take quick action to complete the pathetic stretch of VAS LANE, including the ongoing work near the Unity Hospital entrance — thereby avoiding severe driving hazards and vehicle damage. And also putting people’s lives in danger.
