I regret not insisting on her to work from home, says mother-in-law of Bengaluru Metro pillar collapse victim

Tejaswini, a software engineer who either worked from home or went to her office before 9.30 am, Tuesday left her house at 10 am with her husband Lohith and their twin children on a Honda Glamour bike. Within half an hour, an under-construction Metro pillar at the Nagawara station came crashing down near Hennur main road, killing Tejaswini and Vihan. Lohith and their daughter miraculously escaped unhurt.

“I told Tejaswini to work from home but she chose to go to the office. Had I strongly insisted, they would have been alive,” said a teary-eyed Nirmala.

Tejaswini is the daughter of Nirmala’s brother and she tied the knot with Lohith four years ago.

Incidentally, Nirmala and her husband Vijay Solake, both retired government employees, had come down to Bengaluru only a few days ago to spend time with their grandchildren.

On Tuesday, Lohith was supposed to drop off Tejaswini at her office in Manyata Tech Park and their twin children at a play home, which is also located inside the tech park. Lohith, a civil engineer, was to head back as he had opted to work from home.

According to deputy commissioner of police (East) Bheemashankar S Guled, the incident took place around 10.30 am. “As they were traveling, scaffolding wrapped around the pillar snapped and collapsed on the road. Tejaswini and Vihan were sitting on the rear seat of the bike and it fell on them. Lohith and his daughter managed to escape. Soon after the incident, Tejaswini and Vihan were shifted to Altius hospital, located on the other side of the road. The doctors declared that they were brought dead,” he said.

Guled said Lohith has filed a complaint in the matter. The local police have registered a case under several IPC sections, including 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), against site engineers, BMRCL officers, and the contractors.

Anjum Parwez, managing director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), who visited the spot, said an expert team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will be asked to independently investigate the matter. “The works are being carried out by Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd. According to the engineer from our end, all safety measures were taken but now we need to see whether there was manual or technical negligence. The IISc team will ascertain it and actions will be initiated accordingly. We will stop Metro work on this stretch for a couple of days and will resume work after taking necessary steps,” he added. He also announced Rs 20 lakh compensation from the BMRCL to the family of the deceased.

Basavaraj Bommai also announced a separate compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each of the deaths from the Chief Ministers’ Relief Fund.

Later in the day, the BMRCL in a statement said that notices were being issued to the contractor and the engineers concerned. It also said that an internal technical team will probe the matter, apart from the IISc team.

Following the accident, the Congress attacked the ruling BJP and said it was running a ‘40 per cent commission’ government. State Congress unit chief DK Shivakumar alleged that the root cause of the issue was nothing but substandard work as the ruling BJP government extorted commission. “What can you expect from this government when they are hungry for money,” he quipped.

Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy said, “Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai is directly responsible for this accident. He held the Bengaluru Urban Development Ministry portfolio and this tragedy exposed the inefficiency of the government. It is not some pothole injury, but there is a limit. It is extremely disturbing.”

The accident has made those who have to regularly take the route anxious. Shivaraj, an eyewitness who lives in RK Hegde Nagar, said: “It can happen to anyone. A portion of the road has been blocked for a long time owing to the construction of the Metro. This has narrowed the space available for motorists. This incident has made the common public afraid.”

He also alleged that BMRCL workers or officials did not help in shifting the patients to the hospital. “Soon after the accident, it was the locals who shifted the victims to the hospital. None (BMRCL employees) even bothered to look at what had happened,” he added.