Broken slabs lead to broken legs

City

People of Gangamma Circle still wait to get broken slabs fixed

By Abhinav Kumar

People living near Gangamma Circle Church Road, Kalathur Layout, find it difficult to walk because of broken slabs on the footpath. So far, residents say, about a dozen people have injured themselves. The situation deteriorates after dark due to the lack of street lights in the vicinity.

Shankar, a resident, said, “Last week I tripped and hurt my leg due to the unrepaired broken slabs that were lying on the path.”

R. Reddy who is a shop owner in the same area, said, “After closing my shop I take this route daily. Many people fall into the gaps created by the broken slabs and injure themselves. This happens mostly during the night  because of the absence of street lights in the area. On average, at least one person falls due to broken slab daily.”

Broken Slab

Under Section 58 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act of 1976, it is the responsibility of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to construct, repair and maintain civic infrastructure.

Sri. K.T.Nagaraj , Supertendenting Engineer BBMP, Said, “ the civic body has taken various steps to fix these problems, we have been adreessing issues and attending to them through Sahaya and other apps.”

Sri. Somashekara S, BBMP engineer-in-chief said, “It takes 20 to 25 days to resolve any complaint, if it is filed in. We try to fix it as soon as possible.”

Dr. Mahadevaiah T, (Department of civil engineering) professor of BGS Institute of Technology, said, “Open and broken foothpath  slabs are dangerous to people in many ways, for example, are breeding place for mosquitoes and other bacteria which host many diseases in them. There is a chance of accident at night when visibility is low.”