A 30-year-old woman and her two-year-old son were killed after an under-construction pillar of the “Namma Metro” (Bengaluru Metro) collapsed on the bike they were travelling on in Bengaluru’s Nagawara area in Karnataka on Tuesday. A rescue operation was launched after the incident to find out if more people were injured in the incident.
According to police, the incident took place around 11 am on Outer Ring Road near HBR Layout in the city, when the TMT bars erected for the construction of a pillar fell on their scooter.
The pillar, which is said to be of a height of over 40 feet and weighs several tonnes, collapsed on the bike on which Lohit Kumar and his wife Tejaswini were taking their two children to a daycare center. The two were riding on a two-wheeler on the road when the pier reportedly swayed and collapsed onto the road. The structure or pillar is built on metal rods and then mounted on the column.
Bengaluru East DCP Dr Bheemashankar S Guled said, “Two people on a motorbike who were passing by were hit when the metro pillar fell. Both the injured died in the hospital. FSL and other experts have been called to the incident site.”
Speaking about the incident, Anjum Parvez, MD, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) said, “A pillar fell on the road and a woman and her child were badly injured and died. It is very unfortunate. We will provide Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the victims. We follow highest quality standards possible when it comes to construction. A detailed probe will be done and will see if it was a technical error or manmade. Steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again.”
The corporation also said that notices are being issued to the contractor and concerned engineers. “IISc will be requested to probe and provide a report. An internal technical team will so investigate the matter. Cost of treatment of injured persons and support of Rs 20 lakhs will be given to the family of deceased,” the BMRCL said.
Meanwhile, a witness claimed that the portion that fell was “shaking” for the last few days but no action was taken. He added that the structure fell on the woman’s chest and the kid, who was on her lap, suffered head injury.
They were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital by the bystanders but the woman and her son succumbed to their injuries. Her husband and other child were injured in the incident. Police said they have registered a case and investigation will follow.
The incident had resulted in traffic jam for some time along the stretch, even as many vehicles were plying when the mishap happened.
Addressing reporters in Dharwad, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai assured an inquiry into the incident and compensation to the bereaved. “I just got to know about it, we will get it investigated… we will ascertain the reason for the collapse of the pillar and provide compensation,” he said.
In a similar incident a few days back, a 37-year-old woman ragpicker was crushed to death when a huge iron metal plate fixed on a Mumbai Metro pillar crashed on her near the Viviana Mall in Thane officials said on Thursday.
The Thane Fire Brigade authorities said the incident occurred at around 10 a.m. when the woman was walking beside one of the pillars when the metal plate suddenly gave away and fell directly on her from above.
Trapped by the large object, the woman tumbled into the ditch dug around the pillar foundation and succumbed instantly, said an official.
The victim has been identified as Sunita Babasaheb Kamble, residing in Lokmanya Nagarpada.
(with PTI inputs)
Comments
0 comment