MLA representing Melkote Assembly constituency Darshan Puttannaiah visited the accident spot on Pandavapura-Nagamangala road in Mandya district, where a car plunged into the canal on Tuesday evening (November 7), and called for urgent road safety measures.
Mr. Puttannaiah summoned the officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) and pointed to them the “unscientific curve” near the bridge from where the car had plunged, drowning all its five occupants in the Visvesvaraya canal, and asked for the construction of road humps to ensure that the approaching vehicles slow down at the spot.
He also instructed them to take necessary steps to construct retaining walls and crash barriers not only at the bridge, where the mishap took place on Tuesday evening, but at places on the road along Visvesvaraya canal to prevent such accidents in future.
He regretted that the authorities wake up to take steps as a reaction to the tragedies and emphasised the need for the administration to be “proactive”.
Though the work on new bridge had been taken up, but its completion had been held up due to failure to release funds for awarding compensation to land losers.
Five persons drown
It may be mentioned here that five persons, all residents of Tiptur in Tumkur district, who were travelling in a car from Mysuru to Tiptur, were drowned when their vehicle fell into Visvesvaraya canal at Banaghatta in Pandavapura taluk.
The occupants of the car, who were trapped in the vehicle submerged into the waters of the canal, were unable to escape and were drowned.
Alerted by the local residents, the authorities including police, fire and emergency services launched a search operation with the help of expert swimmers and divers.
Eventually, the submerged car was pulled out with a crane and the bodies were taken out and sent to the mortuary in the Government hospital in Pandavapura on Tuesday night.
A case has been registered at Padavapura police station and investigation is under way.
Meanwhile, Minister in charge of Mandya district N. Cheluvarayaswamy has condoled the death of five persons, who drowned when the car in which they were travelling lost control and fell into the Visvesvaraya canal in Pandavapura.
In a condolence message, he has appealed to the Almighty to give strength to the families to bear the loss.
Series of tragedies
The plunging of the car into the canal in Banaghatta and drowning of five persons on Tuesday evening, is part of the series of such accidents that had taken place in Visvesvaraya canal during the last few months.
After a car fell into the canal at Tibbanahalli in Mandya taluk on July 27, claiming one life, four women died when their car veered off the road in Gamanahalli in Srirangapatna before plunging into the Visvesvaraya canal on July 29.
Darshan Puttannaiah has urged the authorities to make the roads running along the canal and other water bodies safe for motorists by constructing crash barriers and retaining walls and taking up other road safety measures.
