Now you see it, next moment you don't: Bus shelter vanishes

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: In a major security lapse, a newly built stainless steel Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus shelter went missing right from the heart of the city.

What's more shocking was the fact that the authorities and the police themselves denied any knowledge of its disappearance until a theft case was filed by a private company on September 30.

N Ravi Reddy, an associate vice-president of a company responsible for construction of BMTC bus shelters in Bengaluru claimed that the structure was built on Cunningham Road near Coffee Day in August.

However when the officials came for an inspection after a week, they found it missing from the place. In a complaint filed at the High Grounds Police Station here, Reddy stated, "We undertake the work of constructing bus shelters in the city for BBMP. Accordingly, we had constructed this particular bus shelter on August 21. It was a stainless-steel structure. The cost of the shelter was Rs 10 lakh. However, on visiting the shelter on August 28, we found it missing. We enquired with BBMP officials and asked them whether they have any information on the removal of the shelter and they said no. Finally, we decided to lodge a police complaint," he said.

The staff of a popular eatery close to the spot said that they had observed some people constructing the bus shelter a few weeks back.

"During August, we observed some people working on a new bus shelter next to the old one here. However, in a few days, the new shelter disappeared. We thought the civic agency might have removed it," said one of the staff.

Another person from the staff complained that a team of policemen had visited the eatery to check the CCTV footage a few days back. "During the investigation, the police scolded us for not keeping an eye on the structure," he said.

In light of this astonishing incident, a case was registered under Indian Penal Code 379, which pertains to the punishment for theft. Hundreds of passengers board buses to various places from Cunningham Road on a daily basis which is why a new bus shelter was built next to an already existing shelter.

The Bengaluru police have launched a probe in the case. However this is not the first case where an entire bus shelter has disappeared in plain sight.

Be it to give way to commercial development or stolen for their metal value, bus shelters have been disappearing overnight here.

PREVIOUS INCIDENTS OF BUS SHELTERS DISAPPEARING OVERNIGHT

1. In August 2021, passengers waiting for a BMTC bus found that the bus shelter was missing from TC Palya Main Road and alerted the jurisdictional police.
2. In May 2015, every last bit of Doopanahalli bus shelter, including the pillars, chairs, the awning, ceiling, everything disappeared. It seemed powerful metal cutters were used to saw off the beams.
3. In 2014, a 20-year-old bus stop went missing in BEML Layout III Stage, Rajarajesh warinagar.