Metro Rail pillar collapse: Traffic holds up elderly man while tragedy fells kin nearby

Vijay Kumar had no inkling that the traffic jam he was caught in on the Outer Ring Road near HBR Layout here would wipe out two of his family members.

A steel rod centering of the Metro Rail collapsed, killing Vijay Kumar’s daughter-in-law Tejaswini (28) and two-and-a-half year old grandson Vihaan, and injuring his son Lohith Kumar and his granddaughter on Tuesday.

Lohith was riding a two-wheeler to drop his children at a nursery school and his wife at her office this morning when the tragedy struck.

“I was not aware that the pillar has collapsed. I thought it was natural to often get stuck in traffic congestion, but not the pillar that felled my grandson and my daughter-in-law,” Kumar told reporters.

He said his son had been calling him to say something, and that he took the service road to reach the spot via Nagawara Road. The injured were rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared mother-son dead.

“I am in deep sorrow. This has caused me unbearable loss,” Kumar said.

He said safety precautions were given a go-by as there was no reinforcement provided to the iron rod casing of the pillar.

“When the Metro Rail work is on, no one should be allowed to venture at least 30 metres close to the pillar, but vehicles ply within 5 and 10 feet, which only shows how unscientific the safety measures have been in place,” Kumar alleged.