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Mother, son die in accident at Namma Metro construction site in Bengaluru

Two persons died in an accident at a construction site of Namma Metro in Bengaluru on January 10 morning. According to the police, a woman and her child, who were on a scooter, died in a hospital while her husband and another child are being treated for injuries.

Bhimashankar Guled, DCP, East division, told The Hindu, “Today morning around 10.45 a.m., Namma Metro pillar collapsed and hit a bike on which four persons were travelling. They are Lohith, his wife Tejaswini and their twins (a son and a daughter). Tejaswini and son Vihan were seriously injured and shifted to a private hospital. Unfortunately, Tejaswini and Vihan died.”

Namma Metro pillar number 218 at Nagawara on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) collapsed in the morning. The incident led to a pile-up of vehicles on the busy Hennur Road.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director Anjum Pervez announced compensation of ₹20 lakh for the family of the deceased. “BMRCL will cover the entire cost of treatment of the injured persons. The construction work at the site will stop for 2 days. What has fallen down is a reinforcement structure, not a pillar. It was not a concrete structure. It has four ropes, and one of them seems to have broken. We’re asking Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to provide a report on this incident. We will also get our internal team to investigate the matter. This is the first time something of this magnitude has happened.”

BMRCL in a media release said that notices are being issued to the contractor and the concerned engineers. Bengaluru city traffic police tweeted: “Metro pillar fell down in ORR near HBR Layout; traffic is congested at various junctions. Our traffic field officers were present and traffic will be cleared very soon.”

Traffic snarls were being reported on ORR after the accident. “At one point, as school buses hit the road, traffic had piled up until Ramamurthy Nagar,” said a local traffic police personnel.

After the incident, motorists complained of heavy traffic in and around Hennur, Kalyan Nagar, HBR Layout, Nagawara and surrounding areas. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has sought information from officials regarding the accident. He told reporters in Dharwad, “I have sought complete details from the officials concerned. We will soon announce compensation for the family of the victims.”

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar said that this is the result of the 40% commission government in the State. “There is no quality in the work.”