KURNOOL: Three men from Karnataka on a motorcycle died after falling into a nearly 20-feet-deep ditch dug on the National Highway- 167 near Chinakunta village of Kurnool district, late on Tuesday night. The ditch, located close to the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border, was dug by Hyderabad- based SRK Constructions and Projects for road works.
The youngsters, who were said to be on their way to take part in a sport involving pigeons, allegedly were unaware of the ditch’s presence due to lack of a sign board or a protective wall around it. The deceased were identified as Kadi Siddappa (24), Boya Chandrasekhar (24) and Boyagadi Lingappa (35), all of whom hailed from Tekkalikota in Siriguppa taluka of Karnataka. People living in the nearby villages blamed the contracting agency’s negligence for the death of the three men.
Expressing anguish over the mishap, they recalled earlier incidents in which people were injured after falling into similar ditches dug for road works in the region. Urging the government to provide compensation to the families of the three men, they demanded that measures be taken to ensure commuters’ safety near such under-construction sites. Works on the site reportedly began six months ago. Responding to the incident, Kurnool SP Ch Sudheer Kumar Reddy said a case of negligence has been booked against the construction agency staff for not taking safety measures near the site.