Corporation to replace damaged manhole chamber covers in Erode

Erode Corp. to replace 178 manhole covers on arterial roads at cost of ₹50 lakh to address damaged covers causing inconvenience & accidents.

With damaged manhole chamber covers on many roads in Erode city causing inconvenience to road users, the Corporation has decided to replace 178 covers on arterial roads at a cost of ₹50 lakh.

The civic body is executing underground drainage sewerage scheme in 53 of the total 60 wards in four zones. Sewage pipelines were laid in the middle of the road for a total of 525 km and 21,141 manhole chambers were constructed with covers. In many areas, works were completed and the system is in use from 2018.

A Corporation Engineer said if there were complaints of clogging, the manhole chamber covers that were made of concrete were removed and workers attended to the complaints. Also, the covers that were located in the middle of the road suffered damages as heavy vehicles passed through it frequently.

“Though the covers were replaced with new ones many times, it continues to get damaged as vehicles with excess weight pass through it,” said the Engineer. Many road users and residents complained about the damaged covers that led to many accidents. Hence, the civic body decided to replace the covers in a phased manner on all the roads in the city.

A 600 mm diameter ductile iron manhole cover with frame that could bear 40 tonne weight could be installed on roads that were used by heavy vehicles and on roads where vehicle movement was high. Likewise, a 600 mm diameter ductile iron manhole cover with frame that could bear 25 tonne weight could be installed on roads that were used by mid-sized vehicles and light weight vehicles. “Initially, the civic body plans to purchase 100 covers that can bear 40 tonnes and 78 covers that can bear 25 tonne,” the Engineer added.