Just two days after the tragic death of a mother and her two-year-old son after an under-construction metro pillar collapsed on them in Bengaluru, yet another case of civic apathy has emerged from the city. This time, a biker was badly injured, on Thursday, January 12, when he tried to avoid a massive sinkhole that appeared in Bengaluru’s Ashok Nagar area, which is in the heart of the IT city. The biker, who received treatment at a hospital, was discharged later in the day.
Officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), who took stock of the situation, claimed that the road caved in as a result of the tunneling work, which was going on as part of the work undertaken by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). However, speaking to TNM, Siddanagowda Hegga Reddy, Executive Director of the BMRCL, said that the incident did not occur because of BMRCL’s tunneling work.
“From what I see, it’s not the BMRCL’s fault. When the cavity occurred, we saw that there was water in it. So my guess is this has no direct connection with our tunneling. If there is any connection to tunneling at this spot, the water would have flown into the tunnel and escaped. No water would have been here. Since water is still there, it is likely to be a localised weak pocket of the road that might have given away,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has accused the BBMP and the state government of negligence. “This is a clear case of negligence on part of the BBMP officials, BMRCL as well as that of the Govt. We strongly protest against the BJP government, against their corrupt practices and the officials who are involved in the negligence, should be taken to task and a departmental enquiry should be conducted against them,” said K Mathai, AAP member and former Deputy Commissioner of the BBMP.