Subhash Nagar open well a threat to motorists

Nagpur: An unprotected open well alongside busy Subhash Nagar Road near Jaitala Road in southwest Nagpur has made driving a risky affair. Though no incident has been reported so far, locals hope Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) acts in time to prevent possible tragedies.
Despite residents having written to the NMC’s Laxmi Nagar zone, traffic police and Pratap Nagar police, nothing has been done so far.
Locals told TOI that the well had been dug up by one Naik family which used to own a huge chunk of land around six to seven decades ago, when the area, which was agricultural then, was deprived of water for irrigation. Today, the well is lying unused following conversion of farmland into a residential area. The worrying factor is that open well by the roadside has no protective wall around it. This puts motorists in possible danger, especially while overtaking.
A newly opened Viveka Hospitals too has raised the issue with the concerned authorities and also submitted complaints. “The well is situated in front of the hospital’s gate and poses danger not only to visiting patients, but also to other motorists,” said a hospital staffer.
As a social responsibility, the hospital staff has covered the defunct well with tin sheet and also constructed a frame protecting the well towards the road side.
TOI spotted a security guard stationed near the well. The hospital has deployed a guard 24x7 to ensure safety of all concerned. The guard told TOI that before the well was covered with tin sheet, people used to throw garbage in it.
The hospital has also requested the NMC to provide permanent protection by covering the well with cement slab before any incident takes place.
NMC’s superintending engineer Manoj Talewar said the civic body has already entrusted the job to cover the well to a private firm that converted the tar road into cement one. “The firm had been assigned the job in January itself,” he pointed out. To a query over delay, the SE said the firm had already been directed to cover the well soon or action will be initiated.
Jayant Khadatkar, owner of the firm, assured TOI that he would start the work within a couple of days. Apart from outstanding payments from the NMC, the contractor also blamed shortage of labourers for the delay in executing the work.