Coimbatore: Satire has become a device to highlight the city’s perennial pothole problem and the apathy of civic authorities in fixing it.
Commuters were amused to see a hoarding placed near a pothole on the Mettupalayam Road near GN Mills, which shows a gaping crocodile getting ready to swallow two men on a motorcycle.
Authorities have not repaired the pothole even after 10 months, said M Devendran, secretary of the Coimbatore District Road Safety Association, who had placed the hoarding. “The road was dug up to lay new drinking water pipelines. With the flyover construction going on at GN Mills, the pothole has become an inconvenience and a threat to public safety. Since Saturday night, water began to leak from the pipe, filling the pothole,” he said. “After streetlights were removed for the flyover construction, the area is prone to accidents, especially during the night hours.”
The association wanted to attract the attention of both the public and the officials to the issue, Devendran said. “We decided to place the board after petitioning both the Tamil Nadu water and drainage board (TWAD) and the national wing of the state highways department several times,” he told TOI. “When we approach the highways department, they pointed fingers at TWAD. We were fed up by the blame game. We hope that the authorities will wake up from slumber and repair the road.”
Officials of both the departments were not available for comment.
Commuters were amused to see a hoarding placed near a pothole on the Mettupalayam Road near GN Mills, which shows a gaping crocodile getting ready to swallow two men on a motorcycle.
Authorities have not repaired the pothole even after 10 months, said M Devendran, secretary of the Coimbatore District Road Safety Association, who had placed the hoarding. “The road was dug up to lay new drinking water pipelines. With the flyover construction going on at GN Mills, the pothole has become an inconvenience and a threat to public safety. Since Saturday night, water began to leak from the pipe, filling the pothole,” he said. “After streetlights were removed for the flyover construction, the area is prone to accidents, especially during the night hours.”
The association wanted to attract the attention of both the public and the officials to the issue, Devendran said. “We decided to place the board after petitioning both the Tamil Nadu water and drainage board (TWAD) and the national wing of the state highways department several times,” he told TOI. “When we approach the highways department, they pointed fingers at TWAD. We were fed up by the blame game. We hope that the authorities will wake up from slumber and repair the road.”
Officials of both the departments were not available for comment.
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