Pumpwell flyover: Accident within a week of opening to traffic; finger-pointing everywhere

Mangaluru: The death of a man in an accident within the first week after the Pumpwell flyover was opened to traffic has started widespread public debate.

The road connecting from Pumpwell flyover to Ujjodi underpass is not flat. The road also has a dangerous curve. The road at the flyover’s starting points at Ujjodi and Karnataka Bank are slightly elevated which can cause a speeding vehicle to lose control and will be a cause of concern during monsoon.

The accident on Saturday, February 8 evening happened when a speeding Alto from Nanthoor lost control, hit the divider on and crashed into a Duster which was travelling from Ujjodi to Nanthoor. A man in the Duster had lost his life.

Whether this accident was due to the Alto driver’s carelessness or a design flaw in the flyover will only be known after the investigation. However, citizens have already started pointing fingers on many causes including the hurriedness with which the flyover was completed in the past few months.

Speaking to Udayavani in this regard MLC Ivan D’Souza said, “A man has died following an accident at the recently inaugurated Pumpwell flyover. Our fact-finding team will visit the flyover on Wednesday (Feb 12) at 3 pm to review the flyover’s build quality. Former minister U.T. Khadar, Legislative Council member and District Congress president Harish Kumar and former minister Ramanath Rai are among the team. If there are any defects found in the flyover then we will pressurise authorities for its repairs and if its not done then we’ll start protests for it.”