Road manhole claims 29 lives

Manholes on the road have become like death traps. Accidents almost happen in manholes without lids or fragile lids. Especially the number of deaths due to falling into manholes without lids is increasing day by day. At least 29 people have lost their lives in the last five years after falling into open manholes across the country, including the capital. 12 of them died in the North and South City Corporation areas of Dhaka. Now questions have been raised about the safety of open manholes and pedestrians. According to media reports, Yasir Arafat, a second-year student of the college’s Department of Botany, fell into an open manhole on the sidewalk in front of the Rajshahi College hostel on the night of August 5 and was seriously injured. A woman named Faria Tasnim Jyoti died after falling into an open manhole submerged in rainwater in front of Dhaka Imperial Hospital in Tongi, Gazipur on July 27. Her two children lost their mother. In 2022, German Deputy Ambassador to Dhaka Ja Genowski was injured after falling into an uncapped manhole in the capital’s Gulshan. On November 21 of that year, he tweeted a picture of his injured leg sitting in a wheelchair. It has been found that there are 74,333 manholes in the capital’s City Corporation and WASA. Of these, 10 percent do not have a lid. Every open manhole becomes a death trap during the monsoon season. These open manholes can be seen in several areas including Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Khilgaon, Basabo, and Puran Dhaka. Where thousands of people move. Locals claim that ordinary people are being killed due to the indifference of the authorities. Dhaka South City Corporation Chief Executive Officer Md. Jahrul Islam said, manhole covers are almost always stolen. So we are thinking about alternatives. A plan has been taken to make environmentally friendly covers. Load capacity is being tested. If successful, it will be used soon. Dhaka North City Corporation Chief Engineer Md. Moin Uddin said, “People should also be aware of manholes. Many big accidents are happening because of a small theft. Even lives are being lost. Therefore, if we can produce or import quality plastic covers instead of iron covers, then not only will theft be prevented, but accidents will also decrease.” Bangladesh Institute of Planners General Secretary Sheikh Muhammad Mehedi Hasan said, “The government should solve this crisis using modern technology. Such accidents can be prevented to a large extent by adopting sensor-equipped manhole covers and digital monitoring systems.”