BENGALURU: A 45-year-old pedestrian is suspected to have died after he fell into a drain when a footpath slab broke following Friday’s rain. According to police, Vasudeva Bhat, a priest at the Venkateshwara Temple in SVK Layout in Basaveshwaranagar, was washed away in the drain when he was walking back home around 6 pm. It was raining and suddenly the footpath slabs gave way, they said.
Rescue personnel arrived to the spot by 6.45pm and search operations continued till around midnight. Vasudev is survived by his wife and two children.Srinivas Achar, a friend of Vasudeva, said, “There are no proper footpaths in the area. The issue has been raised with the corporators and officials several times but none responded so far.”
Locals also expressed their displeasure saying that the works carried out were substandard and led to the incident. Bengaluru development minister K J George and other officials of BBMP visited the spot. George requested people to complain to the authorities concerned if they find that civic works are substandard.