Danger lurks under the pass

Danger lurks under the pass

A youth was killed after the four-wheeler he was driving hit the steel centering

Bosky Khanna. Bangalore



The hurried opening of the Magadi Road-West of Chord Road underpass with lack of concern for motorists' safety, proved fatal for a youth on Saturday.
One youth (See box) was killed and three of his friends sustained serious injuries after the Scorpio he was driving hit the steel centering erected in the underpass for painting work and one of the steel poles broke open the front windshield and hit him on the head.
The underpass has become a death trap for commuters, lacking as it does basic safety provisions.
Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) commissioner H Siddaiah blamed the engineers for their carelessness which led to the fatal accident.
The Saturday night tragedy could well have been averted if work at the underpass was not completed in a hurry, say commuters.
BDA took three years to complete the project and within 10 days of its inauguration one person has died.
There are no proper lights, speed-breakers or signboards to guide traffic on the four-lane underpass, measuring 530.349 metres long and constructed by BDA at a cost of Rs34.68 crore and an additional Rs8.05 crore has been spent for erecting Metro piers.
The steep curves have rendered the underpass further dangerous.
Signboards, rods, staircases and construction debris are kept on the side of the road.
Work is still under progress near the mouth of the underpass on the Vijayanagar side, thus making the curves near this junction even more dangerous.
Also, there are no ground level solar reflectors near or along the underpass, said Vijay M, a commuter. There are no streetlights on the underpasses' overhead ramp as well. This is equally dangerous as vehicles cruise from all directions.
"BDA should have kept safety measures in mind, before opening the underpass," said Bhavana M, another commuter.
BDA commissioner Siddhaiah said, "Work on the metro piers and sidewalks on the service road towards the Vijayanagar end is on. I will inspect the site on Monday and take necessary steps. All precautionary measures will be immediately undertaken to ensure the safety of commuters. It is carelessness on the part of the engineers.''
The in-charge BDA engineer's report attributed the dim lighting arrangements to the fact that there was no necessity for bright lights during the daytime.
Regarding the nights, the engineer explained that the lights were to be erected along with signboards and speed-breakers once the construction work was completed.