Bangalore:
There seems to be no end to the Metro nightmare on Bangalore roads. A Metro barricade which was not fastened to the ground came crashing after a motorcycle brushed against it on Chord Road, opposite Narayana Nethralaya, on Tuesday morning. The barricade fell and so did the two youths astride the bike. Both suffered injuries.
Witnesses said the contractors were to blame as the barricade would not have collapsed if it had been pinned to the ground and would have withstood the bike's weight after it brushed against it.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials, however, claimed they were not to be blamed as the biker had hit the barricade.
The injured have been identified as cabbies Mahesh Kumar P (34) and Nandish (28). Both were returning home from work. While Mahesh is a resident of Srikanteshwaranagar in Mahalakshmi Layout, Nandish is from Nandini Layout. Mahesh suffered a fracture on his right shoulder and Nandish was injured in his right leg.
"There was a car to my left and suddenly another bike came from behind. To avoid hitting it, I turned my bike's handle to the right. It touched the barricade which fell. I lost the grip too and my bike fell throwing me and pillion rider Nandish on to the road," Mahesh explained. He said that thankfully, vehicles behind them ground to a halt.
Nagapura corporator Harish S, who came to the spot on learning of the mishap, said metro officials were not to be seen anywhere near the accident site for a long while.
"The officials came to the spot after a long time. It is because of the sheer negligence of the contractors that the accident took place. Metro work must stop until BMRCL ensures sufficient precautions to avert accidents of this kind," Harish said.
The Chord Road stretch where the accident happened is 15 metres wide as most of the road has been taken over for the Metro work.
Only a bus or a car and a bike can pass on the road at any time. Barricades have not been put all along the Chord Road stretch, but only at places where pillars are being erected. The road is full of potholes and construction material debris is littered all over it.
Chord Road witnesses heavy traffic through the day and late into the night. There are not enough glow sign indicators to give hint to the motorists of the barricades lined ahead.
After BMRCL chief engineer Yuvarajappa arrived on the spot, workers began erecting barricades to the ground.
"We will take a month to finish the construction of the pillars and till then these barricades will remain to prevent vehicles from entering the trenches dug up for erecting pillars," said a source in the contractor's firm which is constructing the elevated track on the road.
Simplex Infrastructure Limited has been contracted with the task of building the 5.2-km-long elevated metro track from the Yeshwantpur depot to Swastik Circle. The construction started a year ago and pillars are still being constructed on Chord Road.
A case of negligence has been booked against BMRCL officials in the Subramanyanagar police station.
"It is the biker who hit the barricade and it is not our fault. He should have been careful," said the official spokesperson of the BMRCL.
Both Mahesh and Nandish were taken to Mother Teresa Hospital, Dr Rajkumar Road, where they were treated as out-patients. "Doctors have advised me to take bed rest for 10 days," said Mahesh.
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