Following the death of a 23-year-old woman, whose car got stuck in the flooded underpass in Bengaluru’s K.R. Circle on Sunday, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai blamed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials’ negligence for the incident. He added that although Bengaluru has been lashed by heavy rains before, he couldn’t recollect ‘any deaths that had occurred due to the waterlogging’ of underpasses.
“Heavy rains and underpass water logging happened earlier also but I don’t remember any death happening before…this (death) could have been avoided and timely action by BBMP could have saved the life. There are some lapses, need to look into it…” he said on Monday.
He alleged that the civic body officials didn’t undertake proper rescue operations and added that CM Siddaramaiah must take immediate action as the weather department has forecast heavy rains for the next five days.
“We have formed SDRF teams in Bengaluru but that needs to be launched and given more work. Required precautions must be taken on war footing as several trees have fallen across the city and have not been cleared yet,” he added.
In 2022, when the BJP government ruled the state, at least 33 rain-related deaths were reported in Karnataka in the month of July alone, and 13 fatalities were recorded in October the same year.
Who was Banurekha?
The victim, identified as Banurekha, worked in Infosys. Banurekha’s family members, who were travelling with her, were rescued by personnel from the fire department. The victim’s brother Sandeep filed a case against BBMP at Bengaluru’s Halasuru gate police station and an FIR has been registered.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the kin of the deceased and also visited the family members of the victim on Sunday. BBMP officials have been asked to clear the silt from all underpasses in preparation for the monsoons.
Meanwhile, deputy CM DK Shivakumar announced that the government has sought a report on all the underpasses in the state. “Everything won’t happen in a day but will ensure that such an incident doesn’t happen again,” he assured.
On Sunday evening, heavy rains lashed parts of Karnataka’s capital leading to civic menace.
