Abdul Shareef struggles to comeout of the pit. PTI photo
A leisurely stroll turned into a nightmare for 39-year-old Abdul Shareef on Monday evening, when his leg got stuck in a footpath slab at Rajajinagar. Shareef is now unable to move his left leg.
Shareef, an IT professional staying near Bhashyam Circle, Rajajinagar, stepped out of his house at 6 pm on Monday to buy stationery for his daughter. As he was walking close to ICICI Bank, a slab on which he stepped broke into two pieces. As a result, his left leg went three feet into the gaping hole. He was stuck there for five minutes, before traders nearby and a few students came to his rescue.
“I called up the BBMP control room, telling them my plight, but they told me to seek help from the police,” said Shareef.
The Rajajinagar traffic police helped him get admitted to the KC General Hospital. He blamed poor quality of the footpath slabs for the incident and is now planning to register a case against the civic agency with the police.
He said that he could not go to work due to the swelling in his leg. Doctors have advised him to get an X-ray done. When contacted, Mayor B N Manjunatha Reddy said he would direct the Palike officials concerned to replace the damaged slabs with new ones immediately.
Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar visited the spot on Tuesday and agreed that the slabs were weak. But he denied that substandard work led to the incident.
He said, “There is building renovation work going on near the footpath. Due to loading and unloading of construction materials, the slabs might have got damaged. I have directed the BBMP to issue a notice to the builder.”