After the tragic death of a woman and her two-and-a-half-year-old son due to a metro pillar collapse in Bengaluru, the victim’s husband spoke to the media and revealed what transpired before him.
The mother-son duo was travelling with Tejaswini’s husband Lohith Kumar on a motobie when the incident took place. Lohith was riding a two-wheeler to drop his children at a nursery school and his wife at her office this morning when the tragedy struck.
“My wife and children were travelling with me on bike. I was about to drop them off en route to my office when in matter of fraction incident happened. I’ve lost everything. Safety should be ensured so that such incidents don’t occur again,” quoted Lohith Kumar.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday late evening announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the family.
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ನಾಗವಾರದ ಬಳಿ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ ಪಿಲ್ಲರ್ ಕುಸಿದು ಇಬ್ಬರು ಸಾವೀಗಿಡಾಗಿದ್ದು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ದುರದೃಷ್ಟಕರ ಸಂಗತಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಸಮಗ್ರ ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಸಲು ಆದೇಶಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಮೃತರ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ನೀಡುವ ಪರಿಹಾರದ ಜೊತೆ, ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳ ಪರಿಹಾರ ನಿಧಿಯಿಂದ ಸಹ ಪರಿಹಾರ ನೀಡಲಾಗುವುದು. pic.twitter.com/l5msYveG8u
— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) January 10, 2023
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation has issued notices to the contractors and engineers concerned in connection with the collapse of an under-construction metro pillar in Bengaluru, and said that an internal technical team would investigate the matter.
While speaking to the media, the victim’s father questioned why aren’t the authorities taking action and demanded the cancellation of the licence of the contractors. He even said that he will not take the dead bodies for last rites until he meets Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
“When the CM comes and cancels the contractor’s licence then I will take the (dead) bodies with me. I will not take the dead bodies,” he said. “People are dying here. Who gave them the permission to construct such tall pillars? I don’t have any demands. Just cancel their tender and the rest I will see in court,” the man further said.
Furious over the promise of compensation for the accident, the victim’s father even said that he is ready to give compensation to the government if they can bring the deceased back to life.
Vijay Kumar, father of Lohith Kumar, had no inkling that the traffic jam he was caught in on the Outer Ring Road near HBR Layout here would eventually lead to the spot where two of his family members met with death.
A steel rod centering of the Metro Rail collapsed, killing Vijay Kumar’s daughter-in-law Tejaswini (28) and two-and-a-half year old grandson Vihaan, and injuring his son Lohith Kumar and his granddaughter on Tuesday.
“I was not aware that the pillar has collapsed. I thought it was natural to often get stuck in traffic congestion, but not the pillar that felled my grandson and my daughter-in-law,” Kumar told reporters.
He said his son had been calling him to say something, and that he took the service road to reach the spot via Nagawara Road. The injured were rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared mother-son dead. “I am in deep sorrow. This has caused me unbearable loss,” Kumar said.
He said safety precautions were given a go-by as there was no reinforcement provided to the iron rod casing of the pillar. “When the Metro Rail work is on, no one should be allowed to venture at least 30 metres close to the pillar, but vehicles ply within 5 and 10 feet, which only shows how unscientific the safety measures have been in place,” Kumar alleged.
