On a partly cloudy Sunday afternoon, a bustling stretch of Bengaluru’s JC Road briefly turned into a rescue scene when an uncovered drain pit nearly claimed a life.
A TOI photojournalist, documenting civic works, spotted a man lying motionless inside one of the gaping drain holes. Alarmed, he immediately informed traffic constable Sridhar MV, who was stationed nearby managing traffic.
Sridhar rushed over and peered into the debris-filled pit. At first glance, the man appeared lifeless, his body wedged awkwardly in rubble. But moments later, his lips moved faintly. Without hesitation, Sridhar climbed in and pulled the injured pedestrian to safety.
According to witnesses, the man had fallen into the pit near an excavation site left unguarded and unmarked. Though he suffered only minor injuries, the episode underscored the serious risks pedestrians face daily on JC Road.
After regaining partial consciousness, the unidentified man requested to leave and walked away without revealing his name.
Local residents voiced frustration that such accidents are inevitable given the state of the footpaths. Broken kerbs, loose stones, and debris have forced people to navigate dangerously close to open trenches. Ironically, civic works meant to modernise infrastructure are endangering lives due to poor planning and negligence.
While BWSSB stated their work was complete on one side of the road, BBMP is still installing massive pipelines without adequate barricading or warning signs.