Danger still lurks in Bangalore’s Cubbon Park

Danger still lurks in Bangalore’s Cubbon Park
Deccan Herald

On May 31, 2005, 45-year-old parking lot attendant Shafi was electrocuted when he was trying to cross a puddle during heavy rain near the Victoria Statue on Cubbon Road in Bangalore.

The culprit then was an uncovered electric junction box which had loose wires in the water causing a short-circuit. Cut to October 28, 2005: The junction boxes that supply power to a row of street lights in Cubbon Park still remain uncovered converting the park area — visited by elders and children alike — into a “danger” zone. According to Ahmed K, a vendor in Cubbon Park, the downpour over the last five days had flooded the place with more than knee-deep water, submerging the uncovered junction boxes.“As we wade through the water, there is a prayer on our lips and feel as if we are courting death,” he said. Even parking attendants are apprehensive about stepping into the “danger zone”. “When Shafi died we were told that action would be taken to cover the junction boxes. Though we had seen some officials inspecting the place, nothing has been done about it,” said Raju L, a parking attendant.The junction boxes that are situated at the bottom of each lamppost are barely two-feet high. When Deccan Herald contacted Horticulture Joint Director Dr Venugopal at Cubbon Park, he said the Public Works Department, which is reportedly responsible for the maintenance of the street lights, had requested his department for extra funds for repair. The request was still pending with the horticulture department.