Portion of fort wall at Kempegowda Park comes off

A portion of a fort wall at Kempegowda Park, North Bengaluru, came off following incessant rains in the early hours of Saturday.

Built around a rocky hillock, the 25-foot high wall had been weakened by incessant water seepage on one side, and a part of it eventually gave way. The incident comes at a time when buildings have been tilting or collapsing every few days in the city.

“Only a part of the wall has collapsed. Had the entire wall come down, the Ranga Mandira situated next to the fort would have been damaged, too,” said K Narasimha Murthy, Joint Commissioner (Dasarahalli), BBMP.

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Kempegowda Park, located in the Mallasandra ward, was recently renovated by the BBMP at a cost of Rs 40 crore. In 2018, a row erupted over the work quality. There was also talk of the BBMP doing the project without taking ownership of the land from the revenue department. Another controversy broke out on October 8 after a schoolboy drowned in the pond inside the park. The wall breach is the latest ignominy. If sources are to be believed, the BBMP knew about the wall weakening but took no action.

A senior official in the BBMP’s Dasarahalli Zone said local politicians had asked them to wait until Monday.

A meeting was to take place between the project contractor and BBMP engineers from the projects division.

Another BBMP official said the project had not been completed owing to allegations of substandard work. The Technical Vigilance Cell Under Commissioner is conducting an inquiry into the project. Up to 30% of the work, including setting up grilles and pathway construction, has been stalled indefinitely, putting visitors at risk, he added.

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