Joshwa D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 26: Someone has rightly said. Development has both boons and banes. Tier-2 cities like Mangaluru are nowadays 'trying to fit' into the Smart City scheme of the union government and hence are speeding up the development activities in pace with the growing population.

Often, development works in the city have resulted in a lot of inconvenience to the public due to the carelessness of the contractors and Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) officials.

Digging the soil has become part and parcel of any deveopment work. But digging in Mangaluru city seems like a perpetual process. Roads are dug everywhere without issuing any notice, and when it comes to coordination between two teams digging in the same area, the less said, the better. Public convenience is thrown to the wind, and worst, deadlines are only on paper. Roads are dug and left untouched for days together, just as in the case of Kadri-Kaibattal road.

The residents of Kadri-Kaibattal road are facing tough times for nearly three months now. The road has been dug for laying underground drainage (UGD). A 10-ft deep pit had also been dug and left open for days together until recently.

As per the residents, the contractors promised to dig the road and lay the pipes within a week, but even nearly three months after it was dug up, the road has not been brought back to original condition. Wherever the pipes have been laid, the road has turned into a stretch of mud, with dust and potholes making commuting a nightmare for people. The residents have complained about the same to the local corporator.

Speaking to daijiworld, an elderly lady complained about the dust which she is allergic to. "Even though I am allergic to dust I have to clean the house twice a day. Like me, there are elderly people in the surroundings and all are facing similar issues. We water the road in front of our houses and try to keep the dust at bay." But given that the city is facing acute water shortage, the residents can barely afford to waste precious water for this purpose.

Speaking to daijiworld, a middle aged male resident said, "About a month ago, when a pipe burst in the locality there was water all around. It made the road surface slushy and a car got stuck in the mud. We had to lift it and make way for traffic. Now the road has become like a tile quarry with dust all around. We cannot even dry our clothes outdoors."

When contacted, local corporator Ashok D K told daijiworld, "Another few days are required to complete the laying of the pipelines and connecting them. Thereafter we might go for patch up work. Since the road will be concreted soon after the drainage connectivity, the residents will have to bear the inconvenience now. We used to sprinkle the road with water through tankers to let the dust settle. All the residents have promised to co-operate and if someone is complaining about the dust now, it is nothing but a conspiracy to curb development."