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A 43-year-old resident of Bengaluru has served a legal notice to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), demanding Rs 50 lakh in compensation for the “physical agony and emotional trauma” allegedly caused by the city’s broken and unmotorable roads. The notice, addressed to the BBMP Commissioner, details the impact of what the complainant describes as the civic body’s “gross negligence” and “blatant failure to maintain basic infrastructure.”
Dhivya Kiran, a resident of Richmond Town, said that despite being a tax-paying citizen, he has endured “continuous physical hardship and mental agony” due to BBMP’s “blatant failure to maintain basic civic infrastructure.” The notice highlights issues such as deep potholes, broken and uneven footpaths, and severely damaged road surfaces.
“I am constrained to send this legal notice owing to the extreme pain, trauma, and suffering I have undergone due to the poor condition of roads under the jurisdiction of BBMP,” the notice read.
According to the notice, Kiran has suffered from severe neck and back pain, which doctors have medically linked to the repeated jerks and impacts experienced while commuting on these roads. He has reportedly sought treatment multiple times, including five visits to orthopaedic specialists and four emergency visits to St Philomena’s Hospital, where he received injections and other procedures to manage his condition. “I have also experienced episodes of crying out in pain, loss of sleep, anxiety, and mental distress, all of which have deeply affected my well-being and daily functioning,” the notice reads.
Kiran demanded the BBMP pay Rs 50 lakh within 15 days as compensation for past and future medical expenses, physical suffering, emotional and mental distress, restricted mobility, and travel costs for medical consultations. An additional Rs 10,000 is being sought towards legal notice charges.
Kiran has warned that failure to respond to the notice will result in further legal action, including a civil suit for damages, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court, and complaints before the Lokayukta and the State Human Rights Commission.
Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, died in rain-related incidents in Bengaluru on Monday, May 20, following a night of intense rainfall in the city.
Two of the victims, 63-year-old Manmohan Kamat and 12-year-old Dinesh, a native of Nepal, were electrocuted while trying to drain water from the basement of an apartment in BTM Layout. According to police, the incident occurred when the two attempted to use an electric motor to pump out rainwater that had accumulated due to severe flooding.
The city recorded 132 mm of rainfall on Sunday night, May 18. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued heavy rainfall till May 22, prompting several software companies to advise employees to work from home, as traffic and waterlogging worsened across multiple areas.