By Alex Guite
LAMKA, April 12: A common habit of people in Churachandpur district of setting up speed breakers on the roads and bye lanes on their own whim are leading to road safety hazards.
Officials of the CCpur PWD who are responsible for many of the road constructions, say that they are sometime helpless as the people insist on having a speed breaker constructed at the road next to their residential gates so that they will be safe from rash drivers.
Sometimes, people put up speed breakers on their own sweet whims in most cases without the consent of the PWD, an official said.
The main problem is that some of the speed breakers are as high as 6 inches and some even have a base that are boulder shape or are not spread/wide enough to be proportionate to the height which is more riskier.
As per rule, one cannot install a speed breaker along the national highways; however the NH 150 which passes through CCPur has plenty of speed breakers some of which are not a breaker but total speed stoppers.
Not to be outdone, almost all the inner roads have speed breaker which is against all norms.
Last fortnight itself there were two or more not so minor accidents caused by speed breakers at Rangkai which connect it with New Lamka.
Officials say the people do it on their own while the people says speed breakers are constructed for safety and to check reckless driving, however this cannot be a valid reasons for the construction of speed breakers.
There are police and traffic personnel to check anyone crossing the speed limits.
Many road accidents in CCPur are directly or indirectly related to this speed breaker (boulder) that are illegally constructed, and to quote a driver who asked, “Why do we need a speed breaker when the condition of the road in CCPur is so pathetic, which is worse than bad in major areas, that you cannot drive in speed in more than 70% of the road stretch.”
The rules also says that it is mandatory to mark out speed breakers on the road by the mandatory black and white color or zebra color.
Many of the speed breakers in CCPur are not marked save the two such along the road leading to the Secretariat at Tuibuang.
Many people have expressed the desire for the authorities to step in and start removing this speed breakers which at close-up look more like a mole hill with no specification followed.
District officials had earlier decided to do away with the speed breaker in front of the CCPur Police station which was a relief for all.
But presently, there are not less than five speed breakers within a 100 m radius or so in the Zoumi colony, Rangkai road, Thangzam road, Red cross road and many other roads in New Lamka and the suburbs of Lamka Town.