JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Two blind elderly citizens were recently taken to the South Rand hospital by DA ward 57 Councillor Faeeza Chame after they fell into a Regents Park manhole.
Johannes Barend and Antoinette van Rensburg, who both stay at the Johannesburg Society for the Blind Centre, were walking back to the centre, coming from work, before they fell into the manhole at the corner of Augusta and East roads.
DA Councillor Faeeza Chame said Johannes complained about pains in his chest and right knee, while Antoinette had pains in her back and feared her toes could be broken.
According to the councillor, this was not the first time the seniors had fallen into a manhole. In fact, the councillor said there are other residents from the centre who had fallen into these holes, and she hopes JRA and Johannesburg Water will help seal all the open manholes before more people get hurt.
Cllr Chame believes the reason why many of the manholes have been opened is because some people steal the heavy lids to sell them for metal. She added that she had previously reported that the manhole had been opened, but nothing was done to close it.
Meanwhile, Bertha Peters-Scheepers, Marketing and Communications Operations Manager of Johannesburg Roads Agency, was sympathetic towards the elderly citizens and extended an apology for the unfortunate incident.
“JRA will immediately ensure that the area is made safe for all pedestrians and road users. This was a very unfortunate incident,” she added.
More investigations to address this issue will be done by the JRA.
