Potholes caused food delivery rider to tumble
Published on: Friday, September 03, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
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The potholes in this Manggatal road have been getting bigger and deeper.
A Grabfood handler, who took a tumble after his motorcycle hit one of the potholes in a Manggatal housing road, is upset over City Hall’s failure to avert this danger.For almost a year and a half, he has been informing the agency, on and off, about the damage to the stretch.
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The potholes had only been patched up twice in all that time. This was first done shortly after his initial report early last year.
The motorcyclist was infuriated with City Hall for not taking this matter seriously as the damage had recurred.
He said bigger and deeper potholes had formed due to the lack of regular maintenance carried out on the road.
The individual provided Hotline with the name of the stretch concerned. This information was forwarded to the agency.
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A spokesman for City Hall’s Traffic and Transport Department said the road-user’s grievance had been referred to the government concessionaire.
“We contacted Pembinaan Kekal Mewah in March about this,” he said on September 2.
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“The management has yet to confirm whether the repairs fall under the company’s scope of work.”
He said the agency’s staff would follow up on this matter before deciding how best to resolve the road woes.
The spokesman refuted the motorcyclist’s suggestion about City Hall’s inaction, saying that its ‘road-patching gang (RPG)’ had attended to the potholes periodically last year.
“A check of our records shows that the RPG-crew sealed the potholes at the beginning of March and in mid-July.”
When asked how often the stretch was maintained, he said this was done as and when the agency had the funds to carry out this work.
“Budgetary constraints prevent us from doing this according to a fixed schedule.”
SAFUAN of Likas injured his left hand and scrapped his palms as a result of the fall.
“I was on the way to deliver some food at Universiti Prime Condominium (UPC) on a Saturday night in August,” he said.
As he was heading to the main entrance for the property, his front tyre hit one of the damaged sections in the road causing him to lose control of his motorcycle.
Safuan was thrown from his bike which tipped over and skidded to a halt.
“Fortunately, there was no other traffic on the road at the time, otherwise I might have been run over.”
Nevertheless, he sprained his wrist and got his palms badly scratched.
“I have had to give up delivering food until my injuries are healed. So, I am without a source of income for the time being.”
The complainant has been unable to ride his bike because of the injuries he sustained when it hit one of the potholes.
Safuan related his misfortune to City Hall towards the end of last month. This was the second time he had contacted the agency about the road this year.
He did this three times over the course of 2020.
“I appeal to City Hall to improve the condition of the road before a bad accident occurs.
“I wound up being able to walk away, despite my injuries. Others might not be so lucky and could lose their lives.
“I hope the agency is not waiting for this to happen before stepping up to carry out proper repairs.”
Meanwhile, City Hall is planning to attend to the road between Ming Garden Hotel, in Sembulan, and the roundabout near the establishment.
The spokesman said its staff confirmed the presence of potholes in the stretch during an inspection earlier this year.
“A contractor has been appointed to patch up the damaged sections of the road,” he said.
When asked when this work was likely to begin, however, he declined to comment.
YATIM of Sembulan said the condition of the road to the Hotel had been deteriorating since the beginning of 2021.
“There are several potholes on the stretch which have gradually been getting wider and deeper,” he said. “The damaged sections have begun to resemble mini bomb-craters.”
He lamented the lack of maintenance carried out on the road, saying that he and his peers were not the only who were unhappy about the potholes.
“Many of our guests have voiced their displeasure about the poor experience they have had while driving to our premises.”
Yatim said he reported these road woes to City Hall a few months ago.
“Despite my efforts, nothing has been done to either rebuild the stretch or mend the damage,” he said on August 30.
The driver’s grievance was initially forwarded to the PWD.
A Department spokeswoman said its staff went to verify the damage to the road, shortly after becoming aware of this problem.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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