Man who lost wife, son in metro pillar mishap seeks justice

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: It is going to be close to a month since a 28-yearold woman and her twoyear-old died after bars of an under-construction Metro pillar collapsed on them along the Outer Ring Road (ORR), yet appropriate action has not been taken against the contractors responsible for the construction.

The family members have refused to accept the compensation amount promised by the BMRCL until and unless they “cancel the licence of the contractors” responsible.

“We had announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh and had sent a letter inquiring about the details required to Lohith (the husband) ten days ago. However, we have not received a reply yet. We will carry on the procedure once we receive a reply,” said Managing Director of BMRCL, Anjum Parvez.

He added that simultaneously they are carrying out measures against the contractors responsible. On the other hand, nobody from the Chief Minister's Office has reached out to the family regarding the compensation promised by him.

Lohith has filed an FIR against both the BMRCL as well as the contractor and a criminal investigation is underway. BMRCL and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced compensation packages for the kin of the deceased. The former promised Rs 20 lakh as ex gratia, while the latter announced a relief package of Rs 10 lakh per victim.

“Along with the cost of the treatment of the injured persons, a support of Rs 20 lakh will be paid to the family of the deceased,” an official BMRCL statement read, which was confirmed by MD Anjum Parvez, who termed the accident “unfortunate.”

Bommai, who was visiting Dharwad for the day, had added that the compensation by the state government would be separate from the relief being paid by the BMRCL. A 40-foot pillar of vertical TMT bars fell in the HBR Layout area and struck the family of four travelling on a two-wheeler around 10.45 in the morning.

According to the traffic police, the family of four, including the father, twin children (son and daughter), and the mother were on a motorcycle when the pillar tilted and collapsed. Fortunately, the husband Lohith and the twin daughter Vishmita survived the mishap.