Open wells or death traps?

Karimnagar: The open agriculture wells along the roadside are turning death traps for the travellers in Karimnagar district. As many as 48 open wells were identified from Shanigaram to Godavarikhani in the undivided Karimnagar district and of this only 21 wells are fenced with iron wires etc but not fully secured. And the remaining surface-level wells are left uncovered and without parapet walls.

The same is the situation with State highway and mandal roads, which are in control of Roads and Buildings and Panchayat Raj departments, thus making the people afraid to travel in the nights. If these roads are like this, the condition of the roads constructed by agriculture market committee to transport agriculture products is even worse.

The Telangana government took up road expansion in a big way from villages to mandal headquarters by which the open wells came much nearer to the roads making the situation too dangerous.

Recently a family travelling in a car miraculously escaped from falling into an open well at Pudur village of Kodimyal mandal at Pudur-Vemulawada road.

It should be reminded here that earlier a vehicle fell into open will near Huzurabad-Karimnagar road, killing 10 passengers on the spot. In another incident that took place long back in Bommanapally village of Chigurumamidi mandal, an auto drowned into a roadside open well and both the driver and passenger were killed.

Predominantly roads near Sultanabad, Srirampur, Peddapally, Kunaram, Vemulawada and Konaraopet are more threatening with about 1,850 open wells belonging to Panchayat Raj and 2,000 wells that comes under R&B department are becoming virtual death traps as the vehicles accidentally fell into them, thus killing several people.

R&B Superintendent Engineer Raghavacharyulu agreed that the open wells on the road side are causing accidents and taking precious lives, but he said that people are taking away the iron fence that was set up around these wells. "We are estimating the expenditure for constructing side wall to these open wells and will submit the proposals to the government soon," he added. The SE observed that since the road surface is smooth, the drivers are normally go with high speed, which makes the situation much worse.

It is the responsibility of the government and the departments concerned to take measures at least now and fence the surface-level open agriculture wells on the roadside to save the people's lives.