Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Manholes posing grave threat to motorists

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Nov. 22. The protrusion of the Kerala Water Authority's (KWA) sewerage manholes above the road surface and formation of ruts around them are posing a major threat to motorists, especially two-wheelers, on several busy roads in the State capital.

Manholes which have sunk by several inches from the road surface can be noticed near the Accountant General's Office, the General Hospital-Vanchiyoor and on many other stretches.

Ruts have developed around many manholes such as the one near the petrol pump on the Padmavilasom Road. On the Peroorkada-Mannammoola stretch, the newly-constructed manholes of the KWA have sunken by several inches from the road surface, posing a threat to the motorists.

Many manhole lids rattle dangerously when vehicles pass over them. Motorists who accidentally driven on to protruded or sunken manholes tend to swerve dangerously to avoid them. Sometimes this leads to collision with other vehicles in the rear.

An employee of the Accountant General's office, E. C. Thomas, died on the spot on the night of November 14 after his two-wheeler dashed into granite boulders kept around a newly-constructed manhole in front of the Reserve Bank of India near the Bakery Junction.

The granite boulders had been kept around the manhole by the workers to prevent vehicles from riding over the fresh concrete.

The delay on the part of the KWA in raising the level of manholes promptly when road surfaces are re-laid and the failure to carry out timely repairs are cited as the main reasons.

A Public Works Department (PWD) official said it was for the KWA to raise the level of the manholes once the road surface was re-laid to concrete the adjacent area.

The manholes were raised when the road surface was increased by one foot on the Pottakuzhi-Thekkumood road.

The PWD had taken steps to ensure that the manholes did not protrude dangerously above the road surface and to fill the ruts around them, he said.

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