Kathmandu, January 27:

The traffic island at the Jawlakhel intersection in Lalitpur Sub-metropolis-4 is in a sorry state because of the negligence of the Division Road Office, Lalitpur. The island has numerous cracks which have been creating nuisance to road users. Padam Nepali, a helper of a bus, said the buses plying on the route had been using the island as their bus stop. “While getting off the bus, these cracks create problems for passengers. Sometimes, their legs get trapped into the cracks causing minor injuries,” he added.

Rabi Shrestha, a local of the area, said the cracks in the island mostly caused problems during nighttime. “Sometimes motorbikes collide with the damaged part of the island. Many accidents have been occurring at the intersection because of the island,” he said, criticising the road division office for its negligence in maintaining the island.

Sita Shahi, a local vendor, said she had seen many accidents caused by the island. “More accidents may occur if the island is not repaired on time,” she added.

Who’s responsible:

We have not yet received any complaint regarding the traffic island in Jawlakhel. Even though we don’t have specific programme for traffic islands in fiscal year 2008/09, we will repair the damaged island within a week. But if we didn’t get spare concrete slabs, it might take more than a month for repair as we will have to invite a tender for the supply of slabs.

— Bishnu Kafle, engineer, Division Road Office, Lalitpur