Young Niranjan paid with his life when the gate of a public playground in Bengaluru collapsed on him as he attempted to open it and wheel in his bicycle.
The 11-year-old lay bleeding under the high wrought-iron gate and later succumbed to head injuries. The government rushed in with band-aid measures like promising a thorough investigation, Rs 10 lakh in compensation for the family, and support for his sister’s fees. Investigation showed that the gate, installed four years ago, had heavily rusted.
The tragedy raises a few questions: why are gates to parks and playgrounds closed during the day and why are periodic infrastructure checks not undertaken?
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has suspended the engineers in charge of the playground, a committee of engineers has been constituted to investigate negligence in work, and a report is expected in a week. Yet, not much systemic change can be expected if we are to go by earlier tragedies.
This was not a first for Bengaluru. Citizens, especially children, have become victims of faulty infrastructure like low-hanging power cables, shaky walls, falling rods and open drains. Vikram, a 7-year-old, was crushed under a stone bird bath in Lalbagh in 2016; 17-year-old Sanjana was buried alive when a college wall collapsed in Hebbal in 2010.
Years have passed, but no one has been held responsible for these tragedies. Munirathna, the contractor responsible for building the wall that killed Sanjana, is now an MLA. The Lokayukta report held the contractor and officers responsible, but no action was taken.
It’s deplorable that once such incidents fade from public memory, no action is taken against the corrupt officials, contractors and politicians involved. The malaise of ‘percentage commission’ is the bane of public projects - the ‘cuts’ that line pockets leave meagre funds for quality work. Last year, contractors exposed the ‘40 percent commission’ culture of the previous BJP government, though it is well-known that corruption is part of every dispensation.
How will the government provide a safe civic environment for its citizens, especially in places frequented by children? If the Niranjans and Sanjanas are to get justice and such accidents are to be prevented, we need a strong citizen-friendly legal system that encourages affected citizens to sue the civic authorities and not wait for the government to act.