Open, uneven manholes pose threat to lives

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 17

Open and uneven sewerage manhole covers pose a danger to lives of the city residents as these cannot be spotted at various places. Though numerous accidents have occurred in the past due to these open and uneven manhole covers, it seems that local administration has learnt no lessons.

At various places in the city sewerage manhole covers have been installed on a level, which is much higher than the road. During night, drivers often fail to spot these. If a two-wheeler accidently hits a raised manhole cover, then the driver might get seriously injured. In most of the cases it is the two-wheeler driver, who gets fatally injured as he cannot spot these manholes in the dark or low visibility.

A resident Joginder Singh said, “Not only during night, but even when it rains and roads are submerged under water, a two-wheeler driver is at risk. The road and manhole cover should be at the same level.” He said a scooter driver going at a high speed could get injured if he failed to spot a raised manhole cover.

In March last year, 10-year-old Upinder lost his life after falling into an open manhole in Ekta Nagar. Before him a college student got killed, when her scooter fell into an open manhole. However, such incidents have failed to wake up the authorities concerned despite the presence of open manholes at various places in the city.

The residents demanded that all manholes, whose covers were missing, be covered with new one to prevent mishaps in the future. “The Municipal Corporation must get all those manhole covers, which are higher than the road level, removed and installed at the appropriate level,” said Mukta Sharma, a college student.