Caution: 'Smart City', GAIL India, works in Mangaluru have made roads in city dangerous for motorist
Despite several police barricades lying unused, authorities have failed to put it to use for safety
MCC Commissioner assures VB of "definite" action against concerned agency, contractors
Mangaluru: In early June, a young man in his mid-twenties was riding his scooter towards Balmatta Junction from Bunts Hostel. As he took a turn towards Balmatta Junction at Jyothi Circle, his two-wheeler skid off the road leaving him reeling on the concrete road with a few injuries.
The reason his scooter skidded was he rode it into a barricade tape that was put in place to stop vehicles from entering an under-construction site of ‘smart city works’. It was past midnight and the area vicinity had power cut, the young man could not suddenly spot the barricade tape and rode into it. The accident, however, went unreported due to the injuries to the motorist being minor. The local auto drivers quickly picked him up and sent him home. But on any other day, the accident could have been fatal.
In the past few months, since the smart city works and installation of GAIL India pipeline work gained pace in the city, such incidents of motorists meeting such unreported accidents and vehicles sustaining damages after pitting into a deadly pothole on an otherwise smooth road have become normal. Luckily for the administration, none of these accidents have turned fatal but unfortunately, for the public, these minor incidents have not prompted the authorities to put safety measures at the spots that hold deadly potholes that are capable of causing grievous injuries to motorists if not kill them.
At various important junctions and roads across the city, there are potholes dug as a part of smart city and GAIL India Pipeline work. They are either left uncovered after the completion of work, or the work has been left incomplete without putting in place safety measures around the area.
At places where the work has been completed, the potholes have been covered merely with mud which has spoiled the city’s landscape in monsoon.
Ambedkar (Jyothi) circle, Balmatta Junction, Bendorewell, Attavar, Falnir, Kadri, and Bolar are among a few of the areas where the potholes have become a means of inconvenience for the motorists. Uninterrupted monsoon over the last few days in the city has only made the picture worse for the riders and drivers as the waterlogged potholes tend to become unnoticeable, especially during night hours.
When contacted, Mangaluru Smart City works’ General Manager Arun said while a few of these potholes are indeed due to Smart City work, he also added that most of the dangerous and deeply excavated spots were that of GAIL India which is installing underground pipeline across the city.
In the past, people across the city have also complained about the inconveniences caused due to the installation work of the GAIL India pipeline and have objected to their excavations drive. Several places including Baikampady and other localities were severely affected by the pipeline installation work.
MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar, was also contacted by Vartha Bharati for a comment on the matter. Akshy said he will look into the matter at the earliest and initiate action in this regard.
“Action will definitely be initiated against the concerned agency/contractor,” he told Vartha Bharati.
Despite several police barricades lying unused across the city, the police department and the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) authorities have failed to put them to use for the safety of people on the city’s roads.
It is also important for motorists to be attentive to details on the road, but it is more important for authorities to put safety measures in place and be attentive to their duty of ensuring the safety of people.
While it is also agreeable that there could be several inconveniences in establishing the city as a smart city, but is it really smart to put the lives of people in-line to achieve the feat?
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
