BENGALURU: The Karnataka Lokayukta, which had registered a suo motu case in the Bowring Hospital wall collapse incident in which seven people lost their lives, has served notice to the deputy conservator of forests, Greater Bengaluru Authority, and the hospital’s dean and director, seeking an explanation.
As per sources, Lokayukta Justice BS Patil’s office also summoned the DCF and the hospital dean on May 18 and give a written explanation.
“There is a mass of roots near the collapse site and two withered trees on the hospital premises. The Lokayukta suspects that this also could be a reason for the wall collapse. The hospital is the custodian of such trees, and only on their request, we can take action. We just cannot be held responsible for someone else’s mistake,” said a senior assistant conservator of forests in the GBA.
The GBA Employees and Officers’ Union is also upset with the government suspending an executive engineer and an assistant executive engineer of Shivajinagar Assembly constituency following the wall collapse.
The union felt that top officials have let down their own staff by not speaking in their favour. “The wall belongs to Bowring Hospital; it is they who dumped tonnes of soil, and due to pressure, the wall collapsed on vendors and customers, which resulted in deaths.
It appears that the government may be benefiting more from the hospital. Hence, they made GBA officials a scapegoat,” an office bearer of the union said, criticising the way in which the matter was handled.
Meanwhile, the hospital management claimed that it has submitted documents to the probe committee headed by a retired PWD Public Works Department chief engineer.
The documents, including a letter to the jurisdictional police and the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), proposing clearing a path to make way for ambulances and patients coming from the Russel Market side, have been submitted. The same will be given to the Lokayukta.