Guwahati: Footpaths are essential parts of road infrastructure, especially in urban environments, and it is very important to keep these footpaths in proper condition to ensure the smooth movement of pedestrians. But footpaths in several parts of the city of Guwahati are just accidents waiting to happen.
One of the most risky parts of the footpath construction is the manhole covers. These concrete plates or fibre boards can be removed to carry out cleaning procedures in the drains underneath. But when these covers are not in place or are in a damaged condition, they trigger risks of severe injury or even death. This happens to be the condition of the covers of a large number of covers.
The authorities are currently undertaking operations to clean the drains across the city using super sucker equipment. But it has been noticed that at several places, the covers have not been placed, while at others they have been damaged during the process of lifting and replacing, and many have been totally damaged. In some places, even the sides of the covers have been damaged while cleaning the drains or removing the covers for other reasons.
The conditions of the fibre boards are way worse than the concrete ones. Some have been damaged over time, while many others have been damaged because of the movement of two-wheelers on them. It must be noted that even though these fibre boards look better, they hardly match the concrete plates in terms of strength and longevity. While some of them have already given way, most of these boards sway when people walk over them.
Another key problem is with the electrical department's equipment directly blocking the footpaths. At several places in the city, the roads and footpaths have been developed recently. But the older electricity department poles and transformers remain in their old positions. Due to the lack of appropriate action from the department concerned, some electric posts and sometimes even transformers are in the middle of the footpaths. Since these pieces of equipment have electricity passing through them, and despite the usual half barricade around these structures, they pose an immense risk to pedestrians.
With so many risks involved, the safety of pedestrians while walking on the footpaths is a major cause of concern in Guwahati. It remains to be seen if the authorities of the departments concerned take the appropriate action to ensure the safety of the lives of citizens.
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