18 metro-related deaths since 2009, BMRCL draws flak over lack of accountability

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The safety of those working in construction sites of various Namma Metro projects in the city has come under a cloud in the wake of death of a 28-yearold woman and her twoyear-old son on Tuesday.

The child and his mother died as a reinforcement cage of an under construction pillar collapsed on their two wheeler. Reports say that at least 18 accidental deaths related to Namma Metro have occurred since 2009. With the hope of connecting various parts of the city with a metro rail service, the construction of the Metro network went underway in April 2007.

So far over 18 accidental deaths have been reported since the work started on the project. Many of these deaths have taken place in construction sites. Majority of the victims are construction workers under the age of 25 and died during construction work. Over three deaths involved civilians.

Two years into the constructions works, over seven deaths were reported. Prior to this, in April 2021 a 65-year-old man died after stepping into a Metro station utility shaft due to “lack of signage.” The real figures of the deaths may be comparatively higher as many could have gone unrecorded by the authorities, sources said.

BMRCL negligence Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has drawn flak from the public over the Tuesday’s incident as it took them nearly eight hours to issue a statement detailing the possible causes of the mishap and the action taken to look into the issue. Anjum Parvez, the corporation’s managing director, took close to four hours to reach the spot while calls made to the department and the MD himself by reporters went unanswered.

Executive trustee of CIVIC Chamaraj has said that boards with the accurate details of responsible contractors and engineers must be put up at construction sites, in order to hold them accountable in the event of any such mishaps in future.

He termed the death of innocent public in the incident a “murder” and said, “It is an example of clear lack of concern for the common people who commute through the many construction sites in the city.” Chamaraj also charged the BJP led state government with ‘stealing’ the people’s mandate and diverting their attention to irrelevant issues.

“It is time for voters to realise their power and bring in suitable people to govern us. The current government snatched the position of authority through illegal means. We need to protest when the people’s mandate is being twisted,” he said.