CM visits flood victim’s kin, announces Rs5 lakh relief

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and later on Deputy CM DK Shivakumar visited and condoled the family of the deceased who died due to a flooded underpass with the former announcing Rs5 lakh compensation for the victim. A flooded underpass near K R Circle took the life of a 22-year-old city-based techie Bhanu Rekha, who was originally from Vijayawada.

Her body was shifted to St Martha’s Hospital nearby, where the CM spoke to the family of the victim. Siddaramaiah told mediapersons that he had ordered an inquiry as to why the victim wasn’t immediately admitted to the hospital and administered treatment. Eyewitnesses claimed that it took anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes.

He also chose to not blame the tragedy on anyone. Instead, he chose to conduct an emergency meeting with police commissioner Pratap Reddy, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath, among other officials and demanded that they begin preparing for heavy rains on war footing. He added that “strict action” would be taken against officials who neglected to remove trees that are vulnerable to uprooting due to strong winds.

“Since she has died, we will ensure she gets Rs5 lakh compensation from the government,” Siddaramaiah told mediapersons, adding that the State government would bear all treatment costs related to the accident. He added that he would look into d redging of drains and removal of encroachments that currently block Storm Water Drains (SWDs).