Chennai based NGO asks public to identify, list faults with city roads

CHENNAI: Anti-corruption NGO, Arappor Iyakkam, has appealed to the people to audit speed-breakers that are more than 10cm tall, without white luminous paint, or without a signboard at least 40m near the speed-breaker. These violate Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines. Further, they have asked the public to look for manholes and silt catch pits that are below road level.All of this must be updated in a form(https://arappor.org/SpeedBreakerAuditForm) starting Sunday.
This campaign comes in the wake of a daily wage worker dying due to a poorly laid speed breaker in Feb. “Speed breakers must prevent accidents. But the irony is that speed breakers are causing accidents,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam. He addressed residents who came for the campaign meeting at their head office in Nungambakkam.
“What to do if we are unable to exactly measure the height of the speed-breaker,” asked a resident from Kodungaiyur.
“You can approximately measure and give a ballpark value. On roads with less traffic, please measure the height of the speed-breaker using a ruler,” responded Jayaram.
Several accidents and injuries have been reported due to higher-speed breakers, sunken manholes, and silt catch pits. By next week, the NGO will wrap up the public audit. Then, they will consolidate and submit a report to the govt.
“According to the defect liability period, a contractor has to maintain the speed-breaker for three years, free of charge from the date he lays it,” said Jayaram, urging the people to find out if this has been met in their respective localities.