Protest over 12-yr-old’s death on choked Panathur road

Two days after a 12-year-old boy died on the spot after a water tanker ran over him on Panathur Main Road, residents staged a candlelight protest against the civic bodies on Sunday.

The residents said several accidents occur on the Panathur- Belagere road due to the presence of many water tankers, especially during the peak hours. To add to it the road is too narrow and marked with deep potholes. The narrow Road Under Bridge (RUB) acts as a bottleneck for vehicles during the peak hours.

“Only one water tanker can pass through the RUB at a time. Yet we can see at least 20 to 30 water tankers every hour and the drivers do not have any timing to supply the water. The traffic and accidents are caused mainly because of them,” said Hitesh, a resident of Panathur.

The residents of various apartment complexes in Panathur and Belagere area had recently approached the HAL Traffic Police and urged them to set a standard time for all the water tankers so that they do not choke the road. However, their request did not yield any result.

On Sunday about 400 people came together near VIBGYOR school in Panathur Road to protest against the death of the boy. They also demanded for footpaths, street lights and a traffic police to check the license of these water tankers.

Corporator Pushpa Manjunath, who could not meet the residents during the protest, said Panathur- Belagere road widening project was delayed due to land acquisition problems. “It is getting difficult to convince them (landowners),” she said.

Funds have been sanctioned for the project and it will start as soon as the land is acquired, she said.