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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state milk producers cell convenor B Raghavendra Shetty has filed a police complaint at the Sanjaynagar police station alleging civic negligence against Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. The BJP leader, who sustained a fracture after falling into an open drain, also named Minister and Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh and Greater Bengaluru Authority officials.
Raghavendra Shetty suffered injuries and fractured his leg on Friday evening, July 17, after falling into a 6-foot open drain at 2nd Cross in RMV 2nd stage, near Dollars Colony in Sanjaynagar. The drain had been cleaned earlier that day but was left uncovered and without barricades on a poorly lit stretch of footpath. Shetty told police that the absence of any warning signs or barriers made it an invisible hazard in the dark.
He was admitted to Sparsh Hospital, where doctors reportedly have said that he may not be able to walk for up to six months.
The GBA has undertaken a footpath clearance drive from July 1, removing encroachments, illegal constructions and mostly street vendors from arterial and sub-arterial roads. However, while street vendors have been evicted, the problem of broken pavement stones, uneven surfaces and open drains persists.
Bengaluru has seen a series of open-drain accidents. In Govindapura, a Class 1 student recently fell into an open drain beneath an under-construction footpath, escaping without injury, while in August 2024, a 19-year-old suffered severe head injuries after falling into an open drain in east Bengaluru. In September 2024, a 31-year-old engineer died in Kadubeesanahalli after swerving to avoid an open drain.
This story was written by a student interning with TNM
