Three elderly women sustained minor injuries, and one suffered a serious injury as the bus shelter at Vannanthurai collapsed.
The women were waiting for the bus going towards Besant Nagar, when the shelter fell on them, at around 4 pm. While three of the women escaped with minor injuries to their head, one of them sustained a fracture to the femur bone and was admitted to the Royapettah government hospital, said police officials from Sastri Nagar police station.
Officials identified the reason for the fall of the shelter to the rusting of the screws at the base of the shelter.
Mary Lee, Rose beauty parlour, which is located just behind the bus shelter thanks God as she escaped the incident, “I too was waiting for the bus to go to the Velankanni church, however since it was hot there was no bus in sight, I took the auto and within minutes of me leaving, the shelter fell. Fortunately for me, the shelter fell towards the road. Had it fallen inwards towards my shop, it would have caused severe property damage.”
The incident also shook some of the people working around. “My heart has been racing since I saw the incident,” said an elderly lady, who didn’t want to be named, working in the locality. “I have been unable to work since then and I felt restless upon seeing the blood there. I sympathise with the lady who was badly injured in this incident, with such a heavy object falling on her. Her scream is still ringing in my ears,” she added in agony.
“There is nothing to compare with the older brick and mortar bus shelter. With lowest maintenance, they provided better shelter from sun and rain. Just opposite to this bus shelter is a bus shelter made of brick that has been standing for decades,” said T.D.Babu, Co-founder of civic body Spark, as he pointed out that areas like Vannanthurai, being close to the beach, are susceptible to issues like corrosion. On closer observation of the place, one can see rusted screws and insufficient reinforcement base to sustain the weight of the heavy structure.
The incident has highlighted the laid-back attitude of the government agencies on maintaining such structures and the urgent need to keep a check on them to prevent loss of life and property and reduce strain on the financial coffers of the state.
