VISAKHAPATNAM: The infrastructure development works undertaken in the city have spelt trouble for the residents of the Sector 2 in MVP Colony. The pits dug up for laying the optical fibre cables are left uncovered and many such pits dot almost every lane. Residents say the pits are leading to accidents in the night.
Enter any lane in the Sector 2, the pits make the roads congested. These have become dangerous points for the motorists especially during the night. The lanes with narrow roads mostly have individual houses built years ago.
Once the roads are dug up for laying cables, they are left uncovered for at least two weeks. The residents say that it has become a problem for parking the vehicles outside, now even when a car enters a lane, the other vehicles have to wait for clearance. “The workers who come to dig up the pits do not even know how to choose the area. While they were trying to dig near the water connections outside our house, we had to stop them and direct them. This has even damaged the drainage system blocking some places, which are being restored after giving repeated complaints to the GVMC,” said M Sai Pavan, a resident of the Sector
2. Though the motorists moving in the area during daytime keep a watch on these pits, problem begins when it gets dark as the lanes do not have streetlights facilities.
Auto-rickshaws entering the lane at night are found stuck in the dug-up roads. The residents help them clear the way. On the other lane of the bridge, devotees walk through the road riddled with pits to enter the temple.
“At least, they (the workers) could have filled the pits after the works were over. When we ask them, they come up with some reasons that they would level it in a few weeks and they never show up again,” said a shop vendor from MVP Colony.
Contacted, EE S Venkat said, “We have given permission for laying cables as it is a part of development project. But, after the works are completed, we will cover and level the roads. Meanwhile, we will instruct the workers to clear the heaps of earth from the road.”