Kankanady-Valencia-Nandigudda Circle Road DUG over 60 Times, is DUG Again?

Kankanady-Valencia-Nandigudda Circle Road DUG over 60 Times, is DUG Again?

Mangaluru: Once again I am using my signature tagline -“DIGGING NEVER STOPS IN THE SMART CITY?”. One thing for sure, that you’ll all agree with me is that-Digging of roads/streets/bye-lanes/footpaths will never stop in Mangaluru no matter what- and we have seen it in the past and will see it in future too. MESCOM, Telephone Co’s, Contractors, building owners, etc, including GAIL Pipeline Gas Co – they all dig the roads/streets, and footpaths without prior permission from Mangaluru City Corporation. There is no end to this- and once they dig, and after their work is done, they leave the dug-up area in a shabby condition.

And no action is taken against them, either by the MCC or District Administration. And here we are once again seeing many newly constructed roads by Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) now being dug right in the middle of these roads by Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) to build new Manholes, or Gas pipelines, 24X7 water supply pipeline etc. And now he Kankanady-Valencia-Nandigudda Circle Road which was dug recently near Roshni Nilaya School of Social work, Valencia in the City, for drainage and water-related works, now the same road has been dug in that vicinity by MESCOM and Gail Pipeline Gas Co, and it is a mess out there putting motorists and pedestrians in hardship.

If you look at the entire stretch of Kankanady-Valencia-Nandigudda circle Road, you will see patchwork at various spots, proof that this road has been dug many times. Team Mangalorean had done an article last year when the same stretch of the road had been dug 57 times. Click on the link below: Dug 57 Times the Kankanady-Nandigudda Circle Road Stretch can Enter GB of WR or IB of R

This shows the unplanned and unscientific works taken up, either by Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL) or Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC). To the Engineer/contractor, either of MCC or MSCL who were at the helm of this road project, I say “SHAME ON YOU FOR YOUR UNSCIENTIFIC PLANNING & WASTING TAXPAYERS’ MONEY”. During peak hours, chaos and traffic jams are created due to this work and it’s a total mess out there. You won’t even believe ever since this entire stretch of Kankanady-Valencia was concretized, it has been dug numerous times, either for faulty water or UGD issues- and it will never end. Similar has been the case at a few other streets, which have been dug various times and they are still digging to fix water or UGD problems. This shows how intelligent and smart our engineers are in our Smart City, who don’t even know what they are doing, even after many of them may be rank holders in their academics.

For a City that has been selected as one of the “Smart City” of India, it seems like we are lacking “Smart People”, right from Officials at MSCL and MCC, Engineers, Contractors, and other District authorities who are simply wasting public hard-earned money on projects, which once completed have to be re-done or new roads have to be dug up to lay drainage or construct new manholes or address some water problems. Just look at the sad situation of these newly constructed concrete roads which were done just months ago- now due to poor planning- are dug again to construct new manholes/drainage, at various places in the City.

Why wasn’t the construction of the new manhole/UGD done while the road was being constructed, is the question that many citizens would ask- but getting the right answer from the concerned authorities will be a tough one. Because they screwed up! Isn’t it the right thing to do when the new road construction is done, simultaneously construct the manholes/drainage/water lines wherever needed? But here in this Smart City, we are just seeing the opposite.

A resident of Valencia, Roger Loren had sent a message to Team Mangalorean stating, “This is Valencia, Mangaluru MESCOM has been conducting extensive digging and drilling work for the past few days causing a lot of inconvenience for local residents. Even after several complaints, there seems to be no accountability from authorities. Their digging work begins at night, around 9 pm and loud drilling noise can be heard even at 3 am by residents staying close to the multiple work sites along the main road. Residents of the area were never informed or cautioned prior to the commencement of the work”.

“Their drilling operation involves pumping large amounts of water, resulting in dirty waterlogging in several areas. Thick mud and slush have been flowing through the lanes in the area, as a result, and even Valencia residents living further away from the sites are being inconvenienced as they cannot step outside their compound or take their vehicles out, due to the slush. This unscientific work conducted by MESCOM, disregarding the safety and rights of the residents, has also made the vehicle parking problem much worse in the area, over the past 3-4 days. There was so much mess left right in front of our house, Me and my dad spent hours cleaning it because the corporator didn’t pick our call. The sediment ends up blocking drains in lower areas, risking further waterlogging during the rains. Does anyone care about the safety of motorists and the general public,” adds Roger.

Added to shabby work done by MESCOM, even GAIL Pipeline gas co has once again started digging near Valencia circle, and the huge pit looks dangerous. Even after constant complaints made by residents of the area and other citizens, no officials care about it, turning a blind eye. This education hub is now like a middle-aged bachelor, with the government and MCC trying to dress him up with all sorts of cosmetics while the vital aspects are being sidelined. With half the city being dug up for one or the other reason the traffic appears to be going haywire while the pedestrians are scampering for safety.

Mangaluru has a dubious reputation for being the most unsafe city for pedestrians. Nobody has investigated that so there is no official document available for gauging the level of discomfort for the pedestrian but the way the city is dug up at present it is evident to the naked eye the violation of safety of pedestrians. School children, young and old folks, ladies and gentlemen are the most susceptible. They come onto the road to escape the dug-up areas endangering their safety. It is carnage out there. With the roads dug up here and there, some could claim that they have sent people to the hospital with injuries, some others would state that they have claimed lives!

Even today, when there is so much conversation about road safety, and despite pedestrians being at the forefront of this conversation, many roads are not safe either due to construction or debris left after construction. Not “Smart” for an upcoming “Smart City”? Period. And sadly, it’s a shame that ‘DIGGING OF NEW ROADS NEVER STOP IN THIS SO-CALLED ‘SMART CITY’?