Road cave-ins spark urban safety fears
Source: Xinhua |
August 23, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SPATE of road collapses in China, some fatal, has aroused safety fears as well as concern over shoddy infrastructure construction and poor supervision.
Road cave-ins have been frequently reported since July, when heavy rain hit a large number of Chinese cities, testing the urban infrastructure.
In Harbin City in the northeast, seven reported road cave-ins in nine days in the middle of this month killed two people and injured two others. Two vehicles fell into deep pits.
In north China's Shijiazhuang City, 80 road cave-ins have been reported since the major flood season began two months ago.
A Beijing pedestrian was injured after falling into a pit caused by a road cave-in.
There have also been reports of cave-ins in the northeastern and central cities of Dalian, Changsha and Zhengzhou.
Internet users have been mocking the frequent cave-ins, which they say "may trap anyone."
"Please cherish people around you. When they are walking in the city, they may suddenly be gone." was one popular post.
Bloggers have called for the quality of the infrastructure to be taken more seriously.
China's fast development over the past three decades has seen its cities growing and roads extended in an accelerating urbanization drive.
As of 2011, the urban population stood at nearly 700 million in a country where expanses of highways and number of skyscrapers are commonly regarded as two of the most important measures of success.
"The weird situation of 'pedestrians worrying about their safety' is a great irony of a city's high-speed building boom," said Li Xun, deputy head of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design. "It is also an alarm call for the city's managers."
China's urban residents and its media have been questioning the management and supervision of local governments, who themselves have attributed the cave-ins to intense rainfall, extensive pipeline and subway construction and excessive extraction of underground water.
Experts are urging strengthening of accountability mechanisms in local governments to avoid the recurrence of such tragedies.
"Of course, we should have roads and underground facilities checked and maintained on a regular basis," said Professor Li Simin of the Urban Construction School of Hebei University of Engineering. "But we should also be clear about who should be held accountable for each of these tragedies."
Road cave-ins have been frequently reported since July, when heavy rain hit a large number of Chinese cities, testing the urban infrastructure.
In Harbin City in the northeast, seven reported road cave-ins in nine days in the middle of this month killed two people and injured two others. Two vehicles fell into deep pits.
In north China's Shijiazhuang City, 80 road cave-ins have been reported since the major flood season began two months ago.
A Beijing pedestrian was injured after falling into a pit caused by a road cave-in.
There have also been reports of cave-ins in the northeastern and central cities of Dalian, Changsha and Zhengzhou.
Internet users have been mocking the frequent cave-ins, which they say "may trap anyone."
"Please cherish people around you. When they are walking in the city, they may suddenly be gone." was one popular post.
Bloggers have called for the quality of the infrastructure to be taken more seriously.
China's fast development over the past three decades has seen its cities growing and roads extended in an accelerating urbanization drive.
As of 2011, the urban population stood at nearly 700 million in a country where expanses of highways and number of skyscrapers are commonly regarded as two of the most important measures of success.
"The weird situation of 'pedestrians worrying about their safety' is a great irony of a city's high-speed building boom," said Li Xun, deputy head of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design. "It is also an alarm call for the city's managers."
China's urban residents and its media have been questioning the management and supervision of local governments, who themselves have attributed the cave-ins to intense rainfall, extensive pipeline and subway construction and excessive extraction of underground water.
Experts are urging strengthening of accountability mechanisms in local governments to avoid the recurrence of such tragedies.
"Of course, we should have roads and underground facilities checked and maintained on a regular basis," said Professor Li Simin of the Urban Construction School of Hebei University of Engineering. "But we should also be clear about who should be held accountable for each of these tragedies."
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