A pothole on Mountbatten Drive in Reservoir Hills. Picture: Screengrab
A concerned Reservoir Hills resident said a pothole that his neighbour had driven into on Saturday, causing damage to two tyres, has not been repaired.
Selvan Govender created a cellphone video showing how deep the pothole, on Mountbatten Drive, was. On Tuesday, it had been full of water and the depth could not be seen until Govender inserted a stick into the hole.
Govender said he is considering taking legal action on behalf of his neighbour, who had to pay about R5 000 to replace the two damaged tyres.
He posted the video on a Reservoir Hills community group to highlight the issue and the risk it poses to motorists.
“This pothole, although I was not a victim of it, is extremely deep. Over the weekend I had calls from friends who have lost tyres here. When they stopped to fix it, they were getting robbed here as well. I would be very grateful if the authorities can fix the pothole so we have less casualties. Those who become victims of potholes, they lose their tyres and subsequently what happens is when they fix the tyres, they get robbed,” Govender said.
A Reservoir Hills family spoke of their financial setback and how they avoided a possible attempted robbery after driving over the pothole on Mountbatten Drive on Saturday.
Aidan Ronald was travelling from Durban to his home, at 9.30pm with his wife, his son, and his fiancée. Ronald said his son was driving and did not see the pothole. The left-hand side back and front tyres were damaged.
“The road was covered with patches of water. We did not know there was a pothole. Suddenly we heard two bangs and a noise. My son drove slowly, stopped, and got off to check. We then saw people run towards us.
“My son got back into the car and drove to the nearby petrol station. The tyres were only a month old. We had to wait for assistance to get another tyre. The ordeal has left us in shock and set us back R5000,” Ronald said.
Chairperson of the Reservoir Hills Ratepayers and Residents Association, Ish Prahladh, said the road defect was reported to the eThekwini Municipality.
“We are getting it sorted out. We have a good relationship with the municipality. We believe the pothole formed after the weekend rainfall,” Prahladh said.
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said that the city deals with an average of 2 103 road defects monthly - this is only potholes and road repairs/patches.
This number includes reports from the public and defects identified during routine road inspections proactively conducted by the city’s internal road inspectors.
“Furthermore, the road unit on a two-yearly cycle has a proactive programme whereby roads are assessed for preventative maintenance purposes such as minor to major rehabilitation, crack sealing, diluted emulsion/fog spray, and any other types of preventative seals to extend the lifespan of a road pavement through a pavement management system,” Sisilana said
Motorists can phone 0803111111 or use the Municipal App to report road defects and potholes.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za