Sir,

RCC drains and footpath works are under progress on Basaveshwara Road. It is appalling to witness local bodies constructing RCC drains all over the city — left, right and centre.

In the past, I have taken walks on many roads where RCC drains are provided. In most cases rainwater from the road has no access to the drain (as the case here in the picture). I challenge the authorities to invite residents of such localities and explain how such drains work.

Another aspect I observe in the picture is the width between the compound wall and the road kerb line. It looks 4 to 5 meters wide, where road width seems to have shrunk to accommodate the drain and illogical kerb.

In several places I have ex-perienced unstable RCC covers to the drain. Wobbling covers scare the pedestrians.

In the above work, gap between the drain and compound wall is lower than drain cover. Assuming that the gap will be paved, how do we drain the water from that area into the drain?

I do hope that the width of the gap plus drain cover plus kerb line space have not constricted the road width. In residential areas, footpath width of about 2.00 mts is good enough.

I wonder if enough time is spent in the offices and on drawing boards to conceive plans and towards logical execution or just that funds are available and something is done without due thought process.

– V. N. Prasad, Highways Designer and Project Management Consultant, Mysuru, 19.9.2021

You can also mail us your views, opinions, and stories to [email protected]