Society

Guangzhou manholes covered by regulation

By Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-15 08:24

Missing lids responsible for four deaths

GUANGZHOU - The city issued its first regulation on the management of thousands of cast-iron manhole covers in streets and public places on Tuesday, following a rising number of tragedies that have resulted from their misplacement or removal.

The regulation clarifies the administrative responsibilities regarding the maintenance and supervision of the covers, said Li Tinggui, director of Guangzhou administrative committee of urban management.

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Those who own the covers are responsible for maintaining them, while city and district governments oversee the coordination, supervision and evaluation of the facilities.

"If people are found to have neglected their duties, they will be severely punished," Li said.

He attributed the rising number of incidents involving manhole covers to a lack of regulation over the responsibilities.

"In the past, the cover owners did not realize they should maintain the facilities after they were built," Li said.

There are about 1 million manhole covers throughout the city's urban areas, which are also used by affiliated industries in telecommunications, water, sewage, power and surveillance.

"Some of them have been seriously damaged or stolen due to the absence of a comprehensive supervisory system," Li said.

To tackle the problem, the urban management administrative authority encourages citizens to dial the city's hotline - 12319 - to report theft or damage to manhole covers, among other irregularities, Li said.

Since the hotline was launched in 2004, the authority has been notified about the theft of 10 covers a month, he said, adding that some 1,750 covers were restored from June to July.

Since April, four people died and three others were seriously injured as a result of missing or misplaced manhole covers in the city.

In the latest incident, a 6-year-old child was killed on Sept 4 in Huadu district after falling into an open manhole, which was used for the discharge of sewage.

An investigation into the incident found that manholes had not been properly maintained along the Yongfu Road since they were installed in August 2002.

Several officials, including Chen Xiangsen, director of the Huadu district water resource bureau, which owns the manholes, have been ordered to make a public apology.

Liu Xuemei, a local resident, said she hoped that the government effectively enforces the regulation to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.

If manholes are kept covered, people will not fall in, she said.

Jin Wenyue contributed to this story.