Entrance to duct on Jalan Dewan sealed
Published on: Thursday, April 06, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
A TM contractor tests the hardened concrete on Jalan Dewan to ensure that the material will withstand the weight of the many vehicles which go this way.
TELEKOM Malaysia (TM) Bhd has sealed the entrance to an underground duct on Jalan Dewan and asked its staff to be more mindful of any irregularities involving similar structures around the City.This action was prompted after a motorcyclist tumbled from his bike while going over the duct last month.
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An Inanam driver, who happened to be heading from the Community Centre to the Kota Kinabalu Police Station at the time, witnessed the fall.
She contacted Hotline, saying that the poor condition of a cover embedded in the stretch was to blame for the mishap.
Her concerns about the traffic hazards posed by the uneven surface of the road were passed on to the company.
A TM spokesman expressed his regrets about what had transpired in this part of Kota Kinabalu.
One of the concessionaire’s workers puts the new cement slabs in place on this walkway on Jalan Kemajuan.
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Staff from the relevant section went to Jalan Dewan, shortly after the firm learned about the incident from the media, according to him.
“This officer confirmed that the chamber beneath the road, and the cover on top, belonged to TM,” he said.
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He said wear and tear had taken a toll on the latter as most of the concrete had worn away over the years since the duct was first built.
“One of our contractors returned late at night a few days later, after the shops nearby had closed.
“Cement was poured over the duct and levelled for the safety of the many motorists who use the road daily.”
The affected part of the stretch was temporarily blocked off to allow the material to dry, according to him.
“The four traffic cones at the site have since been removed, according to him.
“Our contractor has double-checked that the concrete should hold under the weight of the vehicles which pass this way.”
The spokesman said structural maintenance on the company’s ducts was carried out as and when it became necessary to do so.
“TM personnel have been instructed to be on the lookout for any irregularities involving these structures and to deal with these problems as soon as possible.
“We also hope the public will not hesitate to bring such matters to our attention.”
The exposed section of the covered drain was a potential hazard to those going on foot.
TAMMI of Inanam was on her way to the Bandaran Berjaya area on a Monday afternoon in March, when she saw the motorcyclist suddenly fall on Jalan Dewan.
“He lost control of his bike as it was going over the section of the road, where a cover has been built into the road, when he suddenly fell off his bike,” she said.
“Thankfully, the car behind managed to pull to the side as there was no on-coming vehicle at the time, otherwise he would surely have been run over.”
Tammi said a pedestrian, who was a few metres away, came running to the cyclist’s aid.
“The do-gooder helped the disoriented cyclist to his feet and got him back on his bike.”
City Hall was initially asked about the cover, as the driver had been under the impression that it was “a manhole”.
A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department spokesman said the rectangular cover had nothing to do with the sewerage for the shophouses along the road.
“As such, both the cover and the duct below are not under our jurisdiction,” he said.
“Nevertheless, our staff alerted TM about the problem with the structure.”
He said, a check of City Hall’s records, revealed that this was done in June 2022 in response to a complaint which the agency had received from the public.
“The complainant first noticed the problem in April last year.”
The spokesman said the covered drain along a main road in the Karamunsing area was likewise not maintained by City Hall.
“We informed the Public Works Department about the problem with the pavement on top, when this first came to our attention in March.”
A government concessionaire replaced the damaged and missing cement slabs on the walkway on Jalan Kemajuan last week.
A spokeswoman for the firm said a plastic barricade was initially placed over the exposed sections of the road-shoulder.
“This was done to forewarn pedestrians about the potential dangers of the ‘hole’ in the walkway,” she said.
The spokeswoman said maintenance was performed on the covered drain, including the pavement, when it warranted doing so.
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