Bengaluru: Videos of a class 1 student falling into a drain below an under-construction footpath earlier this week came to fore Friday, reviving concerns about pedestrian safety amid ongoing road and footpath projects. The incident took place at Govindapura in north Bengaluru. The boy escaped without injury. Bengaluru North city corporation commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar said the incident occurred on Feb 2 during works taken up under B-Smile as part of a high-density corridor project. “The incident did not come to our notice earlier, which is not a good thing. While the footpath has since been covered, that does not give any scope for leaving footpaths open in a dangerous manner, especially in areas with heavy public movement,” Kumar told TOI.He said concretisation on the stretch was almost complete and footpath construction was in progress when the child slipped into the gap. Videos shot by residents showed a partially laid footpath with slabs missing and water flowing through the open drain below. The boy was seen waist-deep, his school uniform soaked, before passers-by pulled him out.Locals claimed this was not the first mishap at the location. “Three people fell at the same spot, including an elderly person and a pregnant woman,” a resident claimed.After the incident, engineers concreted portions of the footpath and created a narrow temporary walkway for schoolchildren.
