8 hours Ago
1 2 3 Times News Network Ludhiana: What started as a routine drive back home from school turned into a nightmare for a man and his two children. While driving his motorcycle, the man strayed into a pile of loose earth heaped around an open manhole in Eastman Chowk, Giaspura. The mound shifted, sending him and the children sliding down into the gaping hole right in the middle of traffic.
Fortunately for them, the road was crowded and passersby lost no time to come to the rescue. CCTV footage of the incident, which also went viral on social media, shows a group of startled people gathering around the manhole soon after the three fell inside. For some time, they could be seen in fervent discussions, after which someone fetched a ladder.
The video showed the two kids being dragged out and attended to by concerned residents. While Good Samaritans saved the day, the MC shifted the blame on the contractor working in the area. The civic body is getting a road constructed at this location and the operation and maintenance cell is raising the level of manhole slabs.
Officials said that the contractor handling the work ignored safety measures. The negligence could prove fatal for the victims, who have sustained injuries. The incident took place at around 1.
30pm. After they were rescued from the manhole, passersby took the victims to the nearest hospital. Meanwhile, the incidents sparked considerable public outrage, with people asking why there was no barricading around the manhole and why officials responsible were not present at the spot.
Many wondered what would have happened if the incident took place at night, with no one around. MC executive engineer Parshotam Lal said, “The matter has come to my knowledge. When the video went viral, the contractor gave the plea that he had done barricading but the bike rider still entered the road.
We will issue a notice to the contractor and warn contractors to avoid such negligence in future.” We also published the following articles recently Step carefully: Manhole menace continues in city Dangerous, damaged manholes plague Lucknow's Mahatma Gandhi Marg, especially near popular public spaces like Kargil Shaheed Park, posing a severe threat to pedestrians. Residents express fear and recount near-misses due to missing or broken covers.
Tragic incidents, including fatalities, underscore the urgency. Authorities blame theft and plan to replace iron covers with cement ones, while also pursuing legal action. Step carefully: Manhole menace continues in city Dangerous, damaged manholes plague Lucknow's Mahatma Gandhi Marg, especially near popular public spaces like Kargil Shaheed Park, posing a significant threat to pedestrians.
Residents express fear and recount near misses due to missing or broken covers. Tragically, similar hazards have led to fatalities in other city areas. Theres no trace of Coimbatores manhole-cleaning robots bought for Rs2cr in 2020 Five robotic manhole cleaners, purchased by the Coimbatore city corporation for 2.
12 crore in 2020, remain unused. Untrained workers and outsourcing complications have stalled their deployment, while manual scavenging continues, endangering workers. A new tender is expected to finally put the robots, intended to improve safety and efficiency, into operation.
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