KOCHI: The death of a 12-year-old girl after she fell from a roadside retaining wall in Thrikakkara has triggered questions over the safety of a recently elevated municipal road and the absence of protective barriers along a dangerous bend.
Rihana Kathrine Andrews, a Class 7 student of Vidyajyoti School, died on Sunday after the bicycle she was riding fell nearly 30 feet into a private property near her residence in Mavelipuram, Kakkanad.
The incident has sparked a debate over accountability, with residents questioning whether adequate risk assessments were carried out when the road was redesigned and whether timely intervention could have prevented the death of the young girl. According to local residents, Rihana and her brother were riding bicycles together when they reached the stretch near the accident spot.
“Rihana’s brother managed to take a U-turn and move away. Rihana could not turn her bicycle in time. We don’t know whether the brakes failed or whether she was going too fast. The cycle hit the small retaining wall, overturned and both the bicycle and the child fell into the private property below. In the fall, she suffered fatal injuries to her head,” said a nearby resident.
Residents alleged that the tragedy was waiting to happen ever since the municipality raised the road level and paved it with interlocking tiles without installing adequate safety measures.
Residents also pointed out that a similar accident had nearly occurred around eight months ago when a car crashed into the same wall, though it did not fall into the property below. Following the incident, representations were reportedly submitted to the municipality seeking safety measures.
Ayesha Subair, councillor of the ward, NGO Quarters, said complaints regarding the site had been raised even before the fatal accident. “During the tenure of the previous councillor, residents had sought the installation of a handrail.
An estimate was prepared, but the proposal did not materialise. After I assumed office, residents again requested that safety measures be taken, and a work order for installing handrails had already been issued. The work was delayed due to the rain, and the accident happened before it could be carried out,” she said.