Metro manager booked after man slips and fractures arm

A man who fractured his arm after slipping on the granite floor of a metro station has accused the BMRCL of using a flawed flooring design.

Janardhan P (38), a deputy manager with the public sector undertaking Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), filed a police complaint following his injury at the Magadi metro station a month ago.

“Like any other passenger, I was rushing to board the train but fell down due to the slippery floor. I fractured my right arm with a wrist dislocation for which I needed surgery with a metal implant,” Janardhan told DH about the incident that happened at 9.30 am on March 6.

Janardhan could not attend work for two months and spent Rs 2 lakh to treat his injury. He wrote about the incident to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) managing director, the chief secretary and the Ministry of Urban Development.

Describing the finely polished and smooth granite flooring of the platforms at all the metro stations as a design fault, he said passengers run the risk of slipping when they hurry to catch the train. He also pointed at the absence of signboards warning people about the slippery floor.

“Such a smooth floor requires footwear with a good grip to avoid slips. If it can happen to me, imagine elderly people with orthopaedic problems,” Janardhan said in the letter.

Based on his complaint, the Magadi Road police booked the manager of the Magadi Road metro station in Gopalapura under IPC Section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others). The police are yet to get the statements of the metro authorities.

Toddler’s death

The metro was cast in poor light after an 18-month-old toddler fell from his grandmother’s arms while on the escalator at the Srirampura metro station. This triggered the metro staff to plug the design gap between the escalator and the building structure.