11 held for attack on BWSSB staffer

Yashodamma (38), Myseena (38), Vajrappa (39), Prasad (33), Rangaswamy (19), C Rama (52), Sathyanarayan (27), Byrappa (24), Narayan (25), Alluraiah (27) and Peddanna (31), all residents of Ramachandrapura were remanded in judicial custody, said the police.

Shankar Rao (58), who was assaulted by the residents on Thursday, is in a state of shock.

He is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Gayatri Hospital. Dr Sunil Mallesh said: “Shankar has sustained injuries on his face, chest and back.”

As Shankar is a diabetic, the wounds would take some time to heal and he would be discharged in two days, the doctor said.

Residents of Ramachandrapura, Muneshwara Block, Devappa Layout, Doddachannappa Layout, Muniramaiah compound and Raghuram Layout gathered at the BWSSB office in Vidyaranyapura on Thursday to protest against the officials for not supplying water for more than 15 days. 

Krishnappa, husband of local corporator Yashodamma, said that when a few women approached them with complaints, Shankar Rao spoke to them harshly.

Angered by his remarks, the residents thrashed Shankar. “There are four valvemen appointed to this area but none of them was available for the past 15 days,” added Krishnappa.

Rudre Gowda, president of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board Employees’ Association, along with other employees staged a protest in front of the BWSSB office on Friday.

“I do agree that Shankar did not respond to the people’s complaints, but the residents have crossed their limits,” he said.

An assistant executive engineer said the areas were supplied water on alternate days and the residents never approached him with any water problems.

BWSSB’s engineer-in-chief T Venkataraju had said the Board supplied water through tankers in areas without Cauvery water supply, but apparently, Kuvempunagara (ward 11) and surrounding areas were not on the list.

“We are not supplying Cauvery water through tankers since the borewells are yielding enough water. However, we will send water tankers to these areas on Saturday,” he added.

BWSSB Chairman Ramamurthy said the attack on the employee was planned and the attackers had informed a private TV channel prior to the attack. Assault on the government worker on duty amounts to criminal offence, he warned.