BENGALURU: A 22-year-old woman, working with Infosys in Bengaluru, died after an SUV in which she was travelling along with six of her relatives got stuck in the flooded KR Circle underpass, less than a kilometre away from the state’s seat of power -- Vidhana Soudha -- in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The deceased, Battula Bhanurekha, and her relatives had hired a taxi and were out sightseeing when their taxi got stranded in the flooded underpass. Her relatives had come to the city on Friday and wanted to spend the weekend with her.
The underpass, which connects Dr Ambedkar Road with Nrupatunga Road, started flooding rapidly as the city received 24 mm rain within one hour on Sunday afternoon. The taxi driver, who was passing through the underpass around 3.45 pm, failed to gauge the depth of water and tried to speed through it. But the vehicle got stranded midway with six passengers, including Bhanurekha, stuck inside. As the water level started rising quickly, the stranded passengers were unable to come out of the vehicle, and they started screaming for help.
A reporter with a private Kannada TV channel, who heard their cries, immediately alerted the police and also sought help from people around. Some jumped in, helped the passengers come out of the car and made them stand on top of the vehicle. Some women also gave their sarees to the people involved in the rescue operation.
Among initial rescuers was Mahesha P, a head constable with the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force. He stopped his police jeep and dove into the water to help the stranded. He told The New Indian Express that the doors of the SUV were jammed and could not be opened. He and other citizen rescuers helped all six passengers and the driver out. But it took longer to pull out Bhanurekha as they had to break the windshield, he said.
‘Underpass was blocked, but driver drove through’
CITIZENS complained that the fire forces personnel came to the spot only around 4.15 pm, nearly half an hour after the incident. They rescued all those stuck in rainwater and rushed Bhanurekha and her family members to St Martha’s Hospital. Doctors at the hospital said that Rekha was frothing in her mouth and had no pulse when she was brought in.
They declared her dead soon after. It is said that Bhanurekha was working in the marketing section of Infosys. BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said the underpass was flooded as the city received more than 24 mm of rain within one hour which was much more than the carrying capacity of the underpass.
He said the traffic police barricade the underpass during heavy rain, but the driver chose to drive through. A pall of gloom descended at Telaprolu village of Krishna district, from where Bhanurekha hailed. Her body will be reportedly brought to the village on Monday and the last rites will be performed the same day.
Underpass not barricaded, auto gets stuck
While the SUV was being pulled out of the underpass, another autorickshaw with two passengers also got stuck in the water. Auto driver Rajanna said the underpass was not barricaded to stop vehicles from entering it. He said he could not see that the underpass was flooded. While the passengers managed
to come out on their own, the auto had to be pulled with the help of ropes by the fire forces personnel. The police barricaded the stretch only after the tragedy.
CM announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to victim
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the KR Circle underpass where a woman techie died on Sunday evening. He visited St Martha’s Hospital, consoled the family member of Rekha and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to her family. He said the government will bear the cost of the treatment of her other family members. Responding to the allegations that doctors refused to treat Bhanurekha, who was alive when she was taken to the hospital, Siddaramaiah said action will be taken after looking into the allegations.
PLAN NEEDED TO AVOID FLOODING IN CITY, SAYS DK SHIVAKUMAR
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who visited the KR Circle underpass on Sunday night, said the
death was unfortunate. “The government has taken the flooding seriously and a detailed action plan is needed to avert floods in Bengaluru. Measures will be taken to prevent flooding of underpasses and such unfortunate incidents should never recur.” He lauded all those citizens who were involved in the rescue operation that saved the lives of six people.
Lightning kills boy in Koppal
Koppal: A 16-year-old boy from Shivapur village in Koppal died after being hit by a lightning bolt on Sunday evening. The police said the deceased, Srikanth Doddagoudar, had come to the village to attend a marriage. When it started raining, he took shelter under a tree. When lightning struck the tree, he collapsed. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead.