BRAKE-LESS’ ROAD PROVES FATAL

BRAKE-LESS’ ROAD PROVES FATAL
Removal of a road hump to ensure smooth drive for CM’s convoy claims life of a goods auto driver, whose vehicle was hit by a speeding truck
M K ASHOKA


The removal of a speedbreaker from a junction to allow smooth passage of the chief minister’s convoy cost a man his life on Wednesday. A speeding truck ran over a newly-wed milk distributor driving a goods autorickshaw at Kaadubisanahalli Circle, near Marathalli.
Such was the impact of the crash the auto had got stuck under the truck.
The deceased has been identified as Kiran Kumar, 27, a resident of K Agrahara. He was married for four months. P K Keshava Murthy Reddy (40), a mechanic in the 18th KSRTC depot in ITPL, Whitefield, sustained minor injuries.
SPEED CHECK
A speed-breaker had been laid on the road that connects Tumkur-Pune highway to regulate vehicles near Kaadubisanahalli Circle, on the Outer Ring Road, where Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had laid the foundation stone for constructing a subway-cum-grade separator a month ago.
The civic authorities had got these speed-breakers removed to avoid giving the CM a bumpy ride. After the ceremony, they ‘forgot’ to relay it.
Recounting the horrific incident, Keshava Murthy said he was heading towards the depot on his bike when he came near Kaadubisanahalli Circle around 6.15 am. “I saw a sand-laden truck hurtling from the direction of Silk Board Junction, while the auto was coming from K Agrahara. As the truck rammed into the auto, the front portion of the truck hit me and I was tossed in the air. I was saved because I wore a helmet,” he said.
The driver had ran away from the spot.
COPS SLOW TO REACT
N Jayaprakash, a local leader, said though the accident occurred around 6.15 am, the HAL traffic police answered the call only after 8 am.
The people had to drag the body from under the lorry and shift it to Bowring Hospital. “By then, a huge crowd had gathered there. There was a petrol bunk at the circle and three petrol tankers were stranded on the road due to the traffic jam,” he said.
“If the road humps are not relaid, we will launch a protest. Heavy vehicles, including 10-wheelers, ply on this road,” said Jayaprakash.
As a result of the accident, hundreds of techies who travel on this road to reach the ITPL in Whitefield were stranded till noon. It took DCP (Traffic - East) B A Muthanna more than five hours to clear the jam.
The people who had gathered there said the HAL police did not bother to monitor the junction. People themselves volunteered to clear the jam.
The HAL police said they do not have adequate staff. They said they would get the road hump relaid at the junction. They said they had informed officers from CM’s office about the importance of speed-breakers when they got it removed. But no one apparently bothered to look into it later.