BENGALURU: An eight-year-old boy drowned in a pond inside a park being developed by the BBMP at Mallasandra in Bagalagunte on Friday. The deceased, Pratap, was the son of Rudramuni and Kanthamma, who hail from Hassan and have been residing at Bagalagunte for the last 20 years.
Around 1.30 pm, Pratap and his brother Raviteja were playing near the pond which was meant for rainwater harvesting. Pratap’s slipper fell into the pond and he went to pick it up when he slipped. Raviteja tried to save him, but he too slipped. He shouted for help and passersby rescued the duo. But Pratap, who was taken to a hospital, was declared brought dead.
Based on a complaint filed by Rudramuni, a tailor, the Bagalagunte police registered a case against BBMP officials for not deploying security guards at the park and not installing safety measures around the pond.
A Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike official of Dasarahalli zone, however, said the area where the boy died was an abandoned quarry. It is a revenue land spread across 28 acres.
“The revenue department is in control of the area, though a portion of it was being developed by the BBMP into a park with play and exercise equipment,” he added. A security guard is deployed to keep a watch on the abandoned site and the park. But local residents have broken the lock on the gate leading to the abandoned site, he said. “Because of continued rainfall over the last few weeks, the pond has 6-7 feet of water. When the slipper fell into it, three boys jumped in to bring it out. Two of them swam out, but one was unable to. There was no one at the site when the incident happened,” he added.
The local MLA, R Manjunath, announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 along with a free house to the family. Former corporator Lokesh alleged that the development work at the park had stopped as the local MLA had differences with engineers and current corporators. Hemalatha B, a resident of Mallasandra ward, too blamed BBMP officials for the tragedy and said the police have to take action against officials.