Dangling dangerously on poles

SURAT: Smart city Surat, which supposedly has one of India’s richest and oldest municipal corporations – the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) — spends crores on beautification of the city. However, maintenance issues, which arise from the same, are often as sharp as a thorn in the hornet’s nest.
“Ever since the flyover lampposts have been adorned with flowerpots and plantations, I keep my curtains drawn closed in the mornings rather than drawn open for the fear of sighting the scary view of SMC workers watering the pots that are aloft. They look on the verge of having a nasty fall,” says a resident of Parle Point Sangini Shah. While there has been no cost cutting so to say when it comes to the quality of plants and pots in question, it is the way the same are watered, which is an ugly truth behind the thing of beauty that is the issue.
Manually watered via labourers sitting on top of tempos and small trucks, the situation that arises is not only dangerous, but a disaster waiting to happen. “It’s my duty to water these plants and the water tanker pipe angle does not provide enough pressure to water the high hanging pots. Hence, we have to risk this everyday,” one of the SMC officials on duty said.
On being contacted, SMC garden superintendent Dr S J Gautam said, “It is true that there is no other option at present for this watering system. The civic body works really hard towards maintenance. The tempos and tankers in question run at an extremely slow speed so as to avoid any accident. Also, this procedure is generally carried out in early in the morning when there is hardly any traffic on the flyovers. For plants on road dividers, we use a water tanker with pipe.”
Parents of school going children, however, differ in their opinion. A resident of Sargam crossroads Sonal Jain said, “Several school buses, travel coaches, trucks and vans commute during the early hours when watering of these pots is on in a dangerous manner. Even a slight jolt by another vehicle coming up the flyover could prove fatal because of the angle that the labourer positions himself to water the plants. Beautification comes with its benefits, but nothing is worth a life. SMC should have thought over the maintenance issue before installing these pots or should find a way to have them watered more safely.”
by Ashleshaa Khurana via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India