CHENNAI: A 68-year-old man died at Madipakkam late Saturday evening when his two-wheeler hit a manhole that jutted out from the surface of the road.
The deceased, V Chandrachari of Lakshmi Nagar in Madipakkam, fell on the road and suffered injuries to his head. Though he was wearing a helmet, it came off his head when he fell as he had not fastened its chin strap, the police said.
St Thomas Mount Traffic Investigation police said Chandrachari ran a car service centre along with his son-in-law. “He was riding his bike along Ramamurthy Nagar Main Road in Madipakkam when he hit the manhole. Passersby called for an ambulance and Chandrachari was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead,” police said.
Officials TNIE spoke to confirmed that the structure was a metro water manhole.
“This is the first time that this manhole jutting out from the surface has been brought to our attention. We will look into it immediately. Three concurrent projects are going on in Madipakkam and we have been prioritising that,” an official said.