A day after two engineers and a site supervisor were killed when the scaffolding of an under-construction water tank for a sewage treatment plant collapsed, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has issued orders to constitute an inquiry committee to look into the procedural, safety, and security lapses which led to the incident. Sixteen others were injured in the accident.
The BWSSB has also withdrawn its consent to work with the SMC Infrastructure, which had been subcontracted to build the STP. BWSSB Chairman Tushar Girinath said that they have issued notice to the contractor Enviro Control Associates, a Surat-based private company, and has written to them about their decision. “SMC Infrastructure Company will not be allowed to work there any more,” he said.
Notices for violation of agreement have also been issued to both project management consultant and contractors as they had allegedly failed to maintain the quality of work.
Soon after the incident, the BWSSB approached experts in the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and CSIR- Structural Engineering Research Centre in Chennai, to study the technical reason for the accident. “We are finalising it and will come to know in a day or two who will study the incident,” Mr. Girinath added.
The BWSSB, had on Monday, suspended Executive Engineer C.M. Venkatashiva Reddy, Assistant Executive Engineer Mohammed Hanif Yatnati, and Assistant Engineer K.V. Bhagyalakshmi on the charge of negligence of duty. It has also decided to study the conditions of 51 overhead water tanks in the city and identified two for demolition.
