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Authorities leave gaping pothole unfixed, putting motorists at risk
A huge hole in a damaged section of road along Jl
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huge hole in a damaged section of road along Jl. Teuku Umar Barat in Denpasar has been left untouched by the authorities, despite causing several traffic accidents.
The last accident occurred on Monday, when a truck nearly overturned after hitting the pothole.
The hole is located at the left curve of a heavily used lane heading toward Kerobokan, around a kilometer from the intersection of Jl. Teuku Umar and Jl. Imam Bonjol.
I Nyoman Sudiana, head of the Bali Public Works Agency, said he was not aware of the pothole on Jl. Teuku Umar Barat, but added he would immediately check on it.
"I haven't seen it. I will check it out later," he told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview on Tuesday.
The driver and passenger of the truck involved in the accident were unharmed after their truck, carrying construction material, hit a group of pylons, including an electricity pole owned by state power company PT PLN and a telephone pole owned by state telecommunications company PT Telkom.
A new PLN pylon was already in place by Tuesday, while Telkom officers only began replacing their pylon after subscribers complained about disruptions in the phone service.
"We only found out (Wednesday) morning about our pylon being hit, after nine subscribers contacted us," Djunaedi, a personal access network officer at Telkom Denpasar, told The Jakarta Post during the repair process.
"We will set up an iron pylon to temporarily replace the damaged concrete one and change the cables so that service can resume as normal."
He added the repairs would be completed by the afternoon. Two other pylons damaged in the accident, one of which likely belongs to another telecommunications company, have yet to be replaced or fixed.
Jaelani, a mobile fruit-vendor in the area, said he often saw traffic accidents occur on the road because of the pothole.
"I was on my way home when a truck grazed my cart and pushed it into the hole," he said.
"I lost my balance and fell down with the cart, and the glass from it just shattered. I was so annoyed the truck driver didn't even stop to see if I was OK."
