KARACHI: Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) has acquired a new kind of recycled, green earth manhole cover with frame to install in their area during the month of May.

According to a CBC spokesperson, some 400 manhole covers have been acquired from a Lahore-based organisation for the initial batch to be installed this month.

These will be installed in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) areas of phases I, II and VI. Some 150 manhole covers will be installed in phases I, II and II extension while the remaining 250 will be installed in phase VI.

These days, the stealing of manhole covers has become a menace for pedestrians as well as drivers. In order to indicate that there is a gapping manhole on the road ahead and to prevent people from falling into it, some people, who care, also take the trouble of placing a tree branch in it or a box or carton over it. Also, some manhole covers are higher in height than the road itself and pose a lethal hazard for motorcyclists and a problem for vehicles. Due to this they also crack or break when so many cars drive over them.

According to CBC secretary Sajjad Nazir, the new prefabricated manhole covers have been manufactured with recycled material. They are heavy to carry and thus cannot be stolen easily. “Each manhole cover can be opened with a special key, which will only be available with CBC staff. Besides, they have been made from recycled material and don’t have a resale value.

“They are also durable and robust so they are not going to crack or break easily as they are load-bearing covers. Heavy traffic may pass over them [with] no problem,” he told Dawn, adding that CBC had already started installing the manhole covers on main roads of phase I and II, namely Korangi Road and Sunset Boulevard.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2021