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Chandmari footpaths a death trap for pedestrians

By STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Oct 8 - The footpaths in the Chandmari area of the city have turned death traps for the pedestrians as several manholes remain open for the past 12 hours. In this area, the development of footpaths has been carrying out by the Road Division of State Public Works Department (PWD). But due to some official reasons, the works remain incomplete and the contractor concerned used some wooden blocks and planks as a temporary measure to cover the manholes.

But in the early morning today when the entire road was inundated after a heavy shower, a section of people removed these wooden blocks and planks to clear the drain. Unfortunately, for the past 12 hours, the PWD (Roads) did not take any steps to cover these manholes again.

The PWD (Roads) has taken the measure to cover the manholes with wooden blocks and planks in the greater Chandmari-Silpukhuri area, as the department floated an extra bid to install slabs made of fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) on the manholes. Though the bidding process was over, it will take some more days to start the work, as the department has to procure the slabs from a company based in Gujarat.

The situation has been deteriorating as the wooden blocks and planks have started decaying, posing a serious threat to pedestrians. Senior officials of the department concerned stated that carrying capacity of one such wooden block or plank is around 300 kgs.

�The footpath at Chandmari Colony is no more usable. The chances of accidents are higher as the number of pedestrians crossing the area has increased during the festive season. The PWD (Roads) and the state government will be responsible if anyone dies or gets injured due to the pathetic condition of the footpath,� said Rina Das who was enjoying the rally of Bijoya Dashami this evening at Chandmari Colony.

Another person, Sunil Nath said, �By doing such irresponsible work during the festive season, the PWD (Roads) has proved its inefficiency. The state government should punish the officials concerned for such an irresponsible act.�

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