3 hurt as Metro barricades fall

3 hurt as Metro barricades fall
Bangalore, Mar 17, DHNS:

Three two-wheeler riders sustained injuries after an iron barricade came crashing down on their vehicles in a freak accident at a ‘Namma Metro’ construction site in Vijayanagar here on Wednesday.

Sachin (27), Sashikumar (47) and Nagesh (45) were injured in the mishap that took place near the Bunts Sangha on West of Chord Road in Vijayanagar, on Reach-2 (Magadi Road to Mysore Road terminal).

According to an eyewitness, the mishap occurred at around 10.35 am when loose earth suddenly caved in, causing the iron barricades to fall on the three two-wheelers.

The workers at the Metro construction sites took to their heels, instead of coming to the rescue of the injured, leaving by-standers to rush the injured to the hospital. The biker who nearly broke his leg was rushed to a private hospital, while the other two were taken to another private hospital.

“The barricades were not bolted into the ground. With the JCB’s carrying out earth excavation work, the barricaded area was filled with loose mud and soil. Unfortunately, they came down on the bikers, as they rode past them,” observed a eyewitness.

Senior officials from BMRCL visited victims at the hospitals and described as really unfortunate that the accident occurred and assured the families of the injured of all medical assistance.

BMRCL also said investigations revealed that the barricades fell due to overstacking of the mud removed for the pile cap work, indicating the contractor’s culpability.

“Based on the inquiry conducted by BMRCL, it has been decided to impose penalty of Rs two lakh on the contractor, besides the contractor’s site Project Manager and site Assistant Project Manager,The site manager has also been demobilised from the project with immediate effect. Besides, the Resident Engineer of GC (General Consultants) to BMRCL has also been demobilised from the project with immediate effect,” added the release.

Byatarayanapura traffic police have registered a case of negligence against the driver of a JCB parked at the accident site and the site engineer, both at large. No arrests have been made yet. The police have also seized the JCB and are investigating.

The accident is the second to have occurred in Vijayanagar, since work on the Metro project began. Last year, a worker lost his life after an iron pile cage fell on him.