#WhatTheFAQ: Namma Metro causing mishaps? What is happening in Bengaluru?

Just two days after an under-construction metro pillar collapsed in Bengaluru, a sinkhole opened up on a major road. Both incidents had connections with the city's metro. What's the issue?
Pic: EdexLive
Pic: EdexLive

Two days after an under-construction Metro pillar crushed a woman and her toddler son to death in HBR Layout, Bengaluru, a big sinkhole developed in front of Brigade Towers at Vellara Junction in Shanthala Nagar, injuring a biker, where the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is allegedly carrying out tunnelling works, a report by The New Indian Express said.

This is not the first time that Namma Metro (as the city's metro is termed) has witnessed accidents. Today's FAQ will look into this.

What are a few other accidents that the city's metro has witnessed?

Reports point out that in 2020, a metro worker lost his life after a 16mm cable pierced his head while he was working on a metro pillar. In February 2020, metro worker Srikakulam, 56, died while he was carrying out work related to the installation of an escalator at Pattanagere Metro station, a report by The Indian Express stated. In April 2021, Nagaraj, 65, mistakenly fell into the utility shaft of Yelachenahalli Metro station thinking it was the washroom and died on the spot. There were no signages near the shaft, the report added.

In fact, just two days ago, due to a construction lapse that took place on Tuesday morning (January 10) on the Outer Ring Road in the HBR Layout area, a mother and son met with a fatal accident when the skeletal structure of a metro pillar fell on the two-wheeler they were riding pillion on, a report by TNIE stated. Parents claimed that safety measures were not in place at the construction site.

Did the construction sites flout safety norms?

Following the collapse of the metro pillar, netizens took to Twitter to allege that many of these construction sites pose a danger to motorists passing them and the workers. "It is time both while collars and contractors are taken to task, this is a common story in Bangalore, wherever we have roadworks, metro works, no proper signage, no proper safety measures can be found, @CMofKarnataka when can we expect at least the basics to be delivered?" said Rahul Bhattacharya on Twitter.

Experts also recommended that a safety protocol document should be in place and effectively implemented. They also pointed out that such documents are in place in other countries and are strictly followed, but there is none for such a high-intensity construction site, a report by TNIE stated.

In light of these claims, BMRCL will be issuing a revised set of guidelines for building metro lines, according to reports.

Does this cast a shadow on the construction of the metro line to the airport?

The accident occurred on the KR Puram to airport metro line. Post the incident, BMRCL halted work on the line. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had earlier orally stated that the metro would be connected to the airport by the end of 2023. However, officials stated that due to the accident, completion of the work will be delayed further, as per a TNIE report. "The official stated that now the work on the site has come to a complete halt. The workers are also apprehensive to start work fearing any other untoward incident. Same is the case at other sites also, where work has slowed down," the report added.

How has the city metro's progress been so far?

Along with the airport line, the metro was supposed to connect to areas such as Whitefield. The much-awaited Baiyapannahalli to Whitefield line was supposed to launch by December 2022. However, rains delayed the process of construction. Meanwhile, phase III of the metro project has been approved which comprises two lines. 

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