An urgent SOS has been raised over a battered irrigation control box jutting onto a busy Budaiya road after repeated vehicle impacts left it leaning dangerously – and, according to a councillor, just ‘one hit away from a tragedy’.
The alarm was sounded by area councillor Mohammed Al Dossary, who said the electrical control unit linked to a treated water irrigation system on Road 53 in Block 557 has been struck multiple times and now leans precariously towards traffic.
His concerns prompted the Northern Municipal Council to unanimously approve an urgent proposal during yesterday’s regular meeting, calling on authorities to find ‘radical solutions’ before someone gets hurt.
“The last accident was very serious,” Mr Al Dossary said.
“The box was hit with such force that it shifted from its base. If another vehicle clips it, it could fall directly into the path of an oncoming car. This is not a minor maintenance issue, it’s a life-threatening hazard.”
Electric control boxes, or controllers, manage water sprinkler systems by sending electrical signals to solenoid valves, activating irrigation zones.
The metal control box sits awkwardly on the roadside near an irrigation-and-treated water facility serving nearby drainage channels.
Officials previously told the council that relocating the installation would be technically complex and costly, requiring the diversion of a drainage channel and the relocation of a lifting pump.
But Mr Al Dossary said the safety risk now outweighs cost concerns.
“We were informed that moving it would be expensive and complicated,” he said. “But what is the cost of a human life? We have already seen multiple accidents at this exact spot. We cannot wait for a fatality before action is taken.”
The issue is compounded by the road’s traffic. Road 53 serves residents, visitors and tourists travelling to nearby beachfront properties including Laguna Beach Hotel and Spa.
“This is not a quiet internal road,” Mr Al Dossary said. “It is used by families, by visitors from across the Gulf, and by daily commuters. The presence of this damaged box in such a sensitive location distorts the road’s safety and even its appearance.”
He said he had received ‘numerous complaints’ from residents and motorists who fear the ‘leaning structure’ could collapse any moment.
“People stop me in the street to talk about it,” he added. “They are genuinely worried. Some drivers have told me they only noticed the box at the last second and had to swerve. This is how accidents happen.”
Mr Al Dossary taking a video of drivers nearby the box at night
According to correspondence presented to the council, co-ordination had already taken place with engineers from the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry, who acknowledged the issue during a site visit and promised to study the matter.
However, an earlier response from the ministry indicated that the installation did not technically conflict with the road layout.
Mr Al Dossary disagrees. “On paper, it may not conflict with the road,” he said. “But in reality, on the ground, it is in the wrong place. The repeated collisions are proof of that.”
The proposal, backed by three other councillors, calls for immediate intervention and a practical solution to secure or relocate the unit before further damage occurs.
“This is about prevention,” Mr Al Dossary said. “We are asking the authorities to act now, decisively, before this turns into a headline none of us want to read.”
He thanked fellow councillors for their unanimous support, saying the council had ‘sent a clear message that public safety comes first’.
“For me, this is a duty to the people of Budaiya,” he added. “We cannot ignore a danger that is standing in the middle of the road.”
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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