On a sidewalk near my house, there’s an open manhole that is posing a risk to pedestrians. I was walking with my father when we saw this hole in the Bu Danig, Sharjah area. In our neighbourhood, there are a lot of children. So, not only is this a risk to people passing by, it is a problem as well to all the children playing in the area.
The manhole is on a sidewalk next to our building on Al Qasimiya Street. It is a half metre wide and almost one metre deep and has been lying in this condition for the past week.
The manhole was open with its lid broken and dumped inside the hole when we saw it initially. My father covered it up with a piece of wooden plywood to prevent people from accidentally falling into it. Now the children are playing with the plywood and bricks. I worry that it is only a matter of time until the plywood might be moved, posing a serious danger to everyone passing by it.
Danger lurks at night when there’s insufficient light in between the two buildings. This open manhole can even cause death to a playing toddler or a small child.
I hope the authorities look into this for the safety of the people in the area. When a lid is removed from any particular manhole, they should soon replace it rather than leave it open.
- The reader is a resident of Sharjah.
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