Bengaluru: A 31-year-old techie died after his scooter was hit by a trailer truck on Gear School Road in Kadubeesanahalli, near Outer Ring Road. The victim, identified as Sai Raj Bilgundi, was trying to navigate a rough patch of road when the accident occurred.
Sai was a senior network engineer at an IT firm. He was on his way to work when he encountered a hazardous stretch of road marked by two uneven duct covers, a Times of India report stated. As he attempted to pass the second duct, which was a few inches below the road surface and appeared like a crater, a truck carrying cement bricks rammed into him, dragging him and his bike for nearly 25 feet before the driver fled the scene.
"I was coming from the opposite direction. The deceased on the scooter was at his normal speed. As soon as he saw a rectangular duct, which was placed a little lower than the road surface level, he tried to avoid it. A speeding trailer truck hit him and dragged the body and the bike for 25 feet. The driver left the vehicle and fled from the spot. The guy on the scooter died on the spot," said a local resident who witnessed the accident.
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Sai, originally from Kalaburagi district, had been living alone in Bengaluru for over a decade. His friends expressed shock over his early morning outing as it was unusual for him. "We have known him for more than 14 years. Sometimes, we wake him up to go to the office. We are unable to guess why he came out so early. Though we all play badminton regularly, he wouldn't have gone out at 4 am to play badminton," they said.
"He was wearing a jacket and boxers, which means he was not travelling anywhere far," they added. The eyewitness also noted that there was no sports equipment found at the scene.
The two ducts in question, used for laying Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), were positioned five feet apart, with one cover elevated and the other lower than the road surface. DCP (Traffic-East) Kuldeep Kumar Jain stated that notices would be issued to BBMP and BWSSB, seeking an explanation. Meanwhile, BWSSB officials clarified that they were not involved with the ducts.
"Every company which will run their cables through these ducts is responsible for repair and maintenance of the ducts. We will check which company has got permission at this location and hold them accountable," said BBMP chief engineer (Mahadevapura) M Lokesh.
The dangerous state of the road had already been reported by residents. A resident of nearby Panathur had flagged the issue of the uneven duct covers through BBMP’s Sahaaya app on September 7. "Now, who should be blamed? I usually travel through that road. Looking at the spot with three dangerous spots next to each other, I knew someone would fall. Hence, I had raised a ticket on BBMP's Sahaaya app," he said.
Now, it is marked as a long-term resolution. I had also raised the issue multiple times in our ward committee groups, and no action was taken. We lost a life today. When will civic agencies wake up? How many more accidents should happen for them to provide good infrastructure? Will our agencies get alert only after an accident?" the resident was further quoted as saying.