Why? Well, the open manholes on footpaths are waiting death traps for pedestrians. One misstep and you land up with a fracture or worse.
In Sector 12 alone, there are as many as 500 open manholes and drains. PC Xavier, a resident of Sahyadri Apartments in the sector, has made it his business to constantly point out these civic lapses to the DDA.
On repeated follow-ups, the manholes were covered — but now again, they’re without covers. Similarly in Sector 7, the open manholes — pointed out by AK Parashar, a resident of Sri Agrasen Apartments near Gokul Garden, are still open.
Footpaths of Dwarka have now turned into death traps.
Parashar recounts his nightmare, “In September last year, I fractured my right leg after I fell into an open manhole. I remained confined to the bed for almost two months, and I still feel the pain.”
He continues, “In a similar incident, Dr Vishal Bhardwaj, who had come from Manali to Dwarka in October 2015 to buy a flat here, changed his mind after he fractured his hand after he fell in a manhole in Sector 16. There are hundreds of missing drain covers in Sector 7 alone. Complaints to DDA have gone unheard!”
“Such incidents keep happening, and still the authorities are not serious! These manholes are death traps for pedestrians,” complained Swati Chaddha, a resident of Sector 9. There are manholes in front of societies like Welcome CGHS and Batukji CGHS in Sector 3.
Some manholes are not even visible, owing to overgrowth around it. This is common on the stretch from Astha Kunj Apartments in Sector 3 towards Deen Dayal Upadhyay College. “A fall could be fatal. I don’t understand why the DDA is so callous in its approach,” lashed out Nirmal Sahu, a resident of Sector 3.
Residents have even made a list of open manholes, detailing their location. A resident of Sector 14, PK Sharma, has made a list of more 100 open manholes during his walk. He said, “In Sectors 12,13,14 — the route of my morning and evening walks — I counted about 110 manholes!
The footpath in front of Kautilya Apartments, Om Apartments and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Apartments, Sector 14, and the footpath in front of Metro View Apartments, Netaji Subhash Apartments, Durga Pooja Apartments, Shabad Apartments in Sector 13 has several such manholes, covered with slabs and not properly fixed. At many places, even the slabs are missing.
“DDA says drug addicts are stealing the covers for iron and it is difficult to constantly replace them. But then what are we to do? Who’s responsible for monitoring the manholes? ” asked Neelam Singh, a resident of Sector 13.
