Mud wall caves in, worker killed

Lack of safety precautions at underpass construction site led to the tragedy

Karthik from Purulia in West Bengal stayed at Hennur Cross. He was working along with five others on the one-km underpass connecting K R Puram and Hebbal.

The contractor’s failure to take precautionary measures caused the accident, the Banaswadi police said.

Along the underpass, two concrete walls have come up half way and there is a distance of nearly six feet between the concrete wall and the mud wall. The work to clear the mud to lay concrete on the ground is in progress.

A six-member team comprising Karthik, his brother Vishwanath, Sujith and three others were busy working around 4 pm. Karthik and Sujith were standing in a big pit removing mud in some containers while Vishwanath and others were standing at the pit’s edge.

Vishwanath told Deccan Herald: “A portion of the wall suddenly came crashing down when I was dumping the mud. My brother and Sujith were half-buried in the mud. However, Sujith managed to come out. But before I could hold my brother’s hand to lift him up, another portion of the mud wall caved in burying him completely.”

All the six labourers from Purulia had come to Bangalore a couple of months ago. Nagarjuna Constructions Company has taken up the project on behalf of the Bangalore Urban Development Authority. None of the engineers or the contractor visited the spot fearing public wrath, police said.

 Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Chandra Shekar said: “We have registered a case based on a complaint of negligence filed by Karthik’s father. Only an inquiry will reveal what actually caused the accident.”