Negligence killed her, say irate residents as Bengaluru grapples with one more pothole death

Residents and commuters described Sharmila’s death as a tragedy waiting to happen and accused the authorities of negligence.

Sharmila’s death on a dilapidated road happened three days after the Karnataka High Court termed the BBMP report on pothole-filling a “sham”.

An irate crowd vented their ire against the elected representatives and the BBMP at the accident spot, charging them of not attending to their complaints, which resulted in the loss of a life. Some motorists said the road has been in neglect for the past two years.

Five months ago, BWSSB dug up the road for five kilometres to lay a pipeline. At the request of the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), the cash-strapped BBMP restored only one lane, leaving the rest of the road in a mess.

The spot where Sharmila died was prone to accidents since the stretch had been dug up with sharp edges.

Blame game

The BBMP did not earmark funds to maintain Magadi Road as it was handed over to KRDCL two years ago, while KRDCL could not immediately develop the road due to allegations of irregularities in the tender. The state government rejected the tender and asked KRDCL to float a fresh one.

Just last month, KRDCL wrote to BBMP urging them to maintain the road until it completes the tender process and government gives all approvals. BBMP officials said while they filled the potholes, they did not have funds to re-lay the road.

“BWSSB has dug up the road to lay three pipelines. Restoring the road requires a lot of money. We had not budgeted any grants for the work as this road was handed over to KRDCL,” a BBMP official said.

Recently, when officials offered the same explanation to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai during a meeting, he shouted at them for not taking responsibility to maintain the roads. BWSSB’s managing director N Jayaram did not respond to calls.

Watch latest videos by DH here: