BENGALURU: Failure to bring all civic agencies under one umbrella to ensure coordination cost the life of a 27-year-old youth on MS Palya Road in Yelahanka zone on Sunday night. The tragedy, which could have been avoided had there been effective coordination between civic agencies while carrying out road and sanitation works, left the mother of Ashwin M all alone as he was her only son and her husband had passed away a few years ago.
Yelahanka Zonal Joint Commissioner PV Poornima said BWSSB had improperly done drain cleaning and repair work on the recently relaid MS Palya Road and had left a manhole partly open, from where drain water was seeping out.
Road was perfect before it was dug up, says BBMP chief
The seepage had created a pit around the manhole, which Ashwin failed to notice while riding his bike. He slipped and fell after he rode his two-wheeler into the pit which had no barricades or signs to warn motorists. His head struck the ground hard and he succumbed to head injuries while being taken to a hospital. Eyewitnesses said he was not wearing a helmet No ambulance came to the spot even after repeated calls and a local resident finally put Ashwin in his car and rushed him to a nearby hospital.
But the delay in the arrival of the ambulance proved costly. Ashwin’s shocked and griefstricken mother filed a complaint with the Yelahanka Traffic police, who registered FIRs against BWSSB and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The police also issued notices to officials concerned asking them to appear for investigation.
The police said that Ashwin, who hailed from Haveri, resided at Vaderahalli and worked in the accounts department of a software company, was on his way to buy food when he hit the pothole around 9.30 pm. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said he had inspected the road works in the constituency just a few days ago and MS Palya Road and other stretches were in good condition. He has ordered Yelahanka BBMP zonal officials to file complaints and initiate criminal action against those responsible for Ashwin’s death.
A police inquiry will also be taken up and based on the report, the next course of action will be decided, he added. He said that in the recent past, five cases have been filed against BWSSB for damaging roads and taking up works without informing BBMP. Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Chairman and Yelahanka zone MLA SR Vishwanath announced that a 20x30 site will be given to Ashwin’s mother at Vaderahalli. BDA and BBMP officials said the compensation amount to be paid to Ashwin’s mother will be discussed and announced by the state government.
LACK OF COORDINATION
Two months ago when Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promised to review Bengaluru development and announced allocation of mega funds for the city’s infrastructure, experts and officials had pointed
to the glaring lack of coordination between government agencies and called for better management.
Experts said civic agencies worked in complete ignorance of each others’ plans, leading to newly laid roads by one agency being dug up by another. All repairs required for a road can be listed and agencies
concerned can work in a coordinated manner to ensure safety and convenience of citizens, they added.