Hemalatha Suresh was riding her two-wheeler when poor lighting and a badly dug-up road contributed to her falling, fracturing both her hands. She sustained four fractures in her left hand and one on her right wrist, incapacitating her for at least three months.
The deep ditch on the service road, Koramangala I Block, has been posing a threat to motorists and pedestrians. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) excavated it to plug a leakage in the water pipeline. Even a month after the repair, the utility has not bothered to restore the road.
Ms. Hemalatha Suresh’s husband Suresh Kumar told The Hindu that a taxi driver and a cook helped his 28-year-old wife get to hospital before calling him.
No one stopped
Mani, the taxi driver, said that no one initially came forward the help the blood-covered victim. “She was in so much pain. Finally I rang a doorbell and the cook of the house helped me take her to hospital. We also parked her two-wheeler in that house for a day,” he said.
Manav Raj, the cook, said Ms. Hemalatha Suresh’s accident, late last month, was the fifth such in the area. “With poor streetlights, motorists often cannot see the ditch,” he said.
Cargo van too
Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the doctors inserted two steel plates in his wife’s left hand.
“The day after her accident, a van fell into the ditch. Fortunately, the driver did not sustain any major injuries,” he said.
Following his complaint, BWSSB’s local inspector came with two labourers, covered the ditch with sand and placed a signboard at one end.
At the local BWSSB office, Accounts Officer R. Ramesh had said: “The ditch has still not been covered as the work on fixing the pipe has been postponed due to non-availability of labourers. We will complete the work and restore the road soon.”
However, even weeks after his assurance, the ditch continues to pose a danger to motorists and pedestrians.
