Hyderabad: Catchpits Pose Threat to People’s Safety

Hyderabad: Catchpits positioned above or below road level have become accident-prone spots across the city, with waterlogging during rains concealing the uneven structures and increasing the risk for motorists, particularly two-wheeler riders.

The problem has been reported at several locations across the 2,053-sq. km Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) area, covering the GHMC, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri municipal corporations.

Among the affected stretches are MCH Market Road in Ameerpet, Dharam Karam Road, Nallagandla Main Road, Dabeerpura, Narayanguda, Nalgonda X Road, Shaikpet and Filmnagar.

At several locations, catchpits are positioned two to three feet above road level, while at others they are two to three feet below it.

During rains, waterlogging makes these structures difficult to identify, causing vehicles to bump into them even during short spells of rain.

“I saw a motorist falling due to this catchpit.

This has been an issue for two months,” said Md. Mubeen, referring to a catchpit on the Nalgonda X Road in front of a private hospital.

Another commuter, K. Ayansh, said he encountered a similar situation on Begumpet road while travelling towards Mayur Marg.

He said he moved to the left to avoid a bus ahead of him and hit an uneven catchpit concealed by waterlogging.

“When I took a left on a bike, I could not see the catchpit as the road was waterlogged.

Fortunately, I was able to control the vehicle and no untoward incident happened,” he said.

Enquiries with engineers of the municipal corporations revealed gaps in coordination between agencies responsible for road restoration and catchpit maintenance.

While road restoration contracts are handled by one agency, cleaning and maintenance of catchpits are assigned to another.

The lack of coordination has resulted in differences of two to three feet between road surfaces and catchpit levels at several locations.

Apart from major roads, similar problems were observed in colonies and slum areas.

However, catchpits on main roads pose a greater risk as motorists may be unfamiliar with their locations, unlike regular commuters using internal roads.

Municipal officials said measures had been taken at several locations to fill gaps between catchpits and road surfaces using bitumen or concrete, despite the work being handled by different agencies.

“The issue has not been left unattended. Even if the catchpit belongs to the water board, they are painting it with red colour and matching to road height.

At places where works are underway, we are also placing signages,” said an official from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Officials maintained that corrective measures, including levelling catchpits, marking hazardous structures and installing warning signs at work sites, were being undertaken to address the risks to motorists.