In a major public safety move before the monsoon season Punjab Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains has directed all urban local bodies to make every city free of open manholes by June 30 and the minister issued strict instructions to Municipal Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners (Urban Development) asking them to complete the work and submit compliance reports after the campaign is finished. He warned that any negligence in implementing "Zero Open Manhole" campaign under Mission Clean Punjab would lead to strict disciplinary action.
According to the minister a state level safety audit found 1,451 open manholes across Punjab's urban sewerage network and more than 1,000 of these have already been covered while the remaining open manholes must be closed quickly to reduce risk of accidents during rainy season. Harjot Singh Bains described open manholes as "death traps" especially during heavy rainfall and waterlogging when they can become difficult to spot and said public safety is government's top priority and added that there will be zero tolerance for any lapse that puts people's lives at risk.
The campaign is part of Punjab Government's Mission Clean Punjab programme being carried out under leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and to improve monitoring the Local Government Department has introduced an AI-enabled mobile application that will track closure of manholes in real time which is expected to help officials monitor progress and ensure that work is completed within the deadline.
The department has also directed civil officers to conduct daily field inspections between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. Dedicated war rooms have been set up in urban areas to monitor complaints related to waterlogging, blocked sewer lines and other monsoon-related issues throughout the day and administrative Secretary of Local Government Department, Ghanshyam Thori who is supervising the campaign said only a few days remain before the deadline and warned that officers who fail to meet the targets will face disciplinary proceedings.
The government aims to complete the campaign before the arrival of monsoon to improve public safety and reduce risk of accidents caused by open manholes.
