A day after a class 9 student was mowed down by a garbage truck on the busy airport road, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), took up an intensive cleaning drive of all the active pedestrian underpasses in the city on Tuesday.
In the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Bengaluru leads the list of cities registering cases against civic authorities for deaths due to negligence in 2020.
On Monday, a 14-year-old student was killed near the Hebbal flyover on Bellary road (airport road) after being hit by a lorry. Identified as Akshaya, she was forced to cross the busy airport road since the underpass she normally used to take was filled with rainwater.
The accident occurred when five girls tried to cross the busy Bellari Road by jumping over the 4-ft high median. They wanted to avoid the subway near the road as it was filled with water. While four girls managed to cross, Akshaya was hit by a BBMP garbage transport lorry. She died while being rushed to the hospital. There was also a skywalk, equipped with a lift, just yards away from the accident spot.
According to reports, BBMP officials said the home guards posted at the pedestrian underpass did not warn the deceased student and others from crossing the busy road.
{{/usCountry}}According to reports, BBMP officials said the home guards posted at the pedestrian underpass did not warn the deceased student and others from crossing the busy road.
{{/usCountry}}Civic officials reportedly said that around 18 of 20 pedestrian underpasses in the city were in active use. These included underpasses on Nrupathunga Road, K.R. Circle, Malleswaram, Town Hall, Dr. Rajkumar Samadhi, Basaveshwara Circle, Ballari Road, among others.
Civic officials told a news website that although some pedestrians use facilities such as subways and underpasses, many citizens prefer to cross the road at signals. It has also been found that pedestrian underpasses on roads with two or three lanes that had signals were often under-utilized.
Bengaluru’s potholes also claimed yet another life earlier this month, this time that of a Haveri-based techie, who was killed in a road accident in M S Palya after he fell into a pothole dug by BBMP and BWSSB.
The Karnataka High Court said it feels guilty for the tragic death of the techie and ordered for a survey, asking the BBMP for a fresh work plan to fill up all the potholes in the city within 15 days time as recurrent mishaps and deaths have been recorded as of late.
Lack of coordination between the two bodies is often said to be the reason why roads are dug repeatedly.
Unsafe roads have taken many a life in Bengaluru, with roads in many parts of the state capital, including Malleshwaram, Kanakpura main road and the Bannerghatta main road all remaining un-asphalted for over the last three years.
The chief commissioner of BBMP also promised the High Court earlier this month that a proper work plan will immediately be put in place to repair roads and potholes in the city using the latest technology.