HSR stadium shelter lacked proper foundation

By Manjunath Hadimani | NT

Bengaluru: Atal means immovable in Hindi. But Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in HSR Layout failed to live up to its name as a newly-constructed shelter in the gallery caved in on Sunday night.

This has exposed, once again, the shoddy works of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). What shocked everyone was that the incident happened two months after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai inaugurated the partially-upgraded stadium.

Residents alleged that the shelter was erected without constructing a proper foundation. Four people were reportedly injured after the iron bars fell down. On Tuesday, workers were seen cutting the fallen metal frames.

A street vendor near the stadium said he woke up from sleep when he heard a big bang. “We could have lost several lives had the incident happened during the day. Many people used to seek shelter under the roof,” he said.

Manohar (name changed upon request), who lives in HSR Layout, too echoed the vendor. “Children used to play here during the day. The stadium was inaugurated by the chief minister, but see its fate now,” he said.

Another resident said on condition of anonymity that the contractor would have finished the work with the 60 per cent of the funds. “The contractor would have paid 40 per cent commission to the BJP leaders. Then he would have finished the work with the remaining funds. So the canopy was destined to fall,” he said.
 

A natural disaster: MLA Satish Reddy
Bommanahalli MLA, M. Satish Reddy said the shelter collapse was ‘a case of natural disaster’.

“The canopy was constructed to just provide shelter. It is like an umbrella that provides some shade. It could not withstand the wind,” he told News Trail on Tuesday.

He alleged that people were playing politics. “I would like to ask them about their contribution to society,” he said.