Metro pillar collapse in Bengaluru kills woman, son; CM Bommai orders probe

According to family members, the duo who had work from the office on Tuesday were on the way to drop their children to a day care when the incident took place

In a tragic incident, a woman and her 2.5-year-old son were killed after a steel pillar at an under-construction metro line collapsed on them on Tuesday morning.

The column weighing several tonnes that fell about 40 feet along the busy road in HBR Layout at 10:45am. (HT image)

The woman’s husband and a one-year-old child, who were travelling on the motorcycle, however, escaped uninjured in the accident.

According to the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), a bunch of vertical TMT bars were erected in a circular column to build pillar number 218 for Namma Metro’s 38.44-km KR Puram-Airport line under Phase 2B collapsed, resulting in the death.

The column weighing several tonnes that fell about 40 feet along the busy road in HBR Layout at 10:45am, said officials.

“Today morning at around 10:45am, a metro pillar collapsed and hit a bike, on which four people were travelling. Father Lohith and mother Tejaswini and twins (one son and daughter). Tejaswini and the son were seriously injured and immediately shifted to Altius hospital. Unfortunately, Tejaswini and her son died,” Bheemashankar S Guled, DCP East, said.

The officer added that based on a complaint lodged by the husband police have registered an FIR.

“As per the information available, the construction was contracted to one NCC limited. We will take action against the contractor,” the DCP added.

The victim Tejasvini is a software engineer, while her civil engineer husband Lohit Kumar is a civil engineer with a private firm in the city.

The family, which hails from Gadag, currently resides in Hennur.

According to family members, the duo who had work from the office on Tuesday were on the way to drop their children to a day care when the incident took place.

Bystanders rushed the family to a nearby hospital.

Tejasvani, 25, and her son were grievously injured in the accident and could not be saved. Lohith and their daughter are being treated at the hospital. Both Lohith and Tejasvani were wearing helmets, said police.

“The mother and child had suffered severe blood loss by the time they were brought to the hospital. We did all procedures to resuscitate them but they died during treatment. As far as we understand the woman suffered severe injuries even though she was wearing a helmet. The child was not wearing a helmet. The husband and other children, who were also taken to the hospital have not suffered any injuries. As per procedures, both bodies have been sent for post-mortem,” said Dr Mahesh SB anaesthetic and an emergency specialist at Altius hospital.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director Anjum Pervez announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh for the family of the deceased.

“BMRCL will cover the entire cost of treatment of the injured persons. The construction work at the site will stop for 2 days,” he said.

“What has fallen down is a reinforcement structure, not a pillar. It was not a concrete structure. It has four ropes, and one of them seems to have broken. We are asking the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) to provide a report on this incident. We will also get our internal team to investigate the matter. This is the first time something of this magnitude has happened,” he added.

According to BMRCL a private company Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) Limited was responsible for the construction and they will be issued a notice. A preliminary investigation conducted by BMRCL, the cast for the pillar, the construction of which was underway, was held in place by wires and one of the wires, which held the structure in place, gave away leading to the whole structure being made of iron bars falling over, said a senior official.

According to BMRCL, in 2021, NCC Ltd bagged Metro Rail contracts worth ₹2,170 crore. This includes the contract for Namma Metro’s airport line. The company is currently in-charge of three packages in Phase II of Namma Metro construction.

Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that authorities will conduct an investigation to ascertain the reason for the accident.

“The BMRCL will conduct investigation and police will take action against those responsible for the death, particularly the contractors. The BMRCL has announced compensation. Apart from that, we will provide ₹10 lakh, each, from the CM relief fund,” he said.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar said that this is the result of the 40% commission government in the State.

“There is no quality in the work,” he said.