BENGALURU: ‘‘Last year’s October rains devastated our family. We cannot forget that fateful evening when I lost both my parents. With the wall, my whole world came crashing down around me. Now, whenever it rains during the night, all I do is sit up,” said Girish, son of Kamalamma and Shankarappa, a couple who died last October after a wall collapsed on them at Kurubarahalli.
With their little savings, Kamalamma and Shankarappa had constructed a house at Jayachamaraja Nagar. On October 13 last year, water entered their house following heavy rainfall, and the family of five, including three children, shifted to the first floor. The same evening, when the couple stepped out of the house, a compound wall collapsed on them, killing them on the spot.
Girish alleged that BBMP authorities who were repairing drains using earthmovers created cracks on walls of their house, which led to its collapse. “From the then CM Siddaramaiah to Minister K J George, everyone gave us a lot of assurances. They gave compensation for my parents’ death and `7,000 to construct the wall that had collapsed. However, I am still waiting for the job that was promised to me,” Girish told The New Indian Express.
Girish, who now stays with his sister’s family in the same house, is faced with another problem. The walls of his current house are also damaged due to the drainage work the BBMP had done following the incident. “We do not use those rooms anymore as we fear the heavy rains may lead the wall to collapse,” he said.
Girish added that he was also given assurances that the family would be moved to a new location.
No job yet for wife of deceased priest
On the same fateful day last year, at Venkatarama temple in Kurubarahalli, priest Vasudev was washed away in a drain. Siddaramaiah and team visited his house after the incident. Vasudev’s wife Roopashree was assured a job and house. One year later, nothing has been done. She now stays in the same house that belongs to the temple.
Venkatesh Murthy, who used to work with Vasudev, said BBMP authorities completed repair of the drains a month ago. “If they had done so last year, we would not have lost Vasudev,’’ he said.