While a few metro commuters walk briskly in and out of the Ameerpet metro station, some pedestrians and other commuters pause for a moment at the spot where 24-year-old Mounika Reddy died on Sunday. They point out the pillar from where a chunk of mortar got dislodged and fell, killing Mounika who was standing underneath. She was simply taking shelter from the rain at the pedestrian zone under the metro building when the tragedy occurred. As pedestrians and commuters mourned the death of Mounika, many wondered what if they had been in the same spot seeking shelter from rain on the fateful day just like Mounika.
The spot just next to the exit of the station is a bus bay and the bus commuters waiting there accompany others in staring at the dent in the pillar, while occasionally sharing their observations. As vehicles zoom past on the busy road stretch next to the station, Praveen, who is walking on the pavement under the metro, suddenly stops his classmates.
Praveen, a student pursuing a Digital Media course in Ameerpet, points to the pillar and remarks, “It fell from such a height! If we had been there our heads would have gotten smashed.”
Praveen and his friends looking at the dent
Ameerpet has scores of institutes offering several classes in digital media, coaching centres etc. Everyday, Praveen, who stays at a hostel near Mythrivanam, takes the pavement under the Ameerpet station to reach his class and vice-versa.
“When I was walking under it, I was carefully looking above consciously. Of course I was casually talking to my friends and laughing, but there was fear,” he says, “These are tall structures, even a small piece of mortar from such a height can injure a person seriously.”
Praveen
At around 12.30 pm, Lalitha, another regular metro commuter, working at a dental clinic in Begumpet, disembarks from the train. She and her friend are in a hurry. However, when she is just about to walk past the accident spot, she taps the shoulder of her friend and points to the pillar.
“It is quite unbelievable that such an accident happened here. These are new structures. I regularly take the metro and I cannot help but imagine what would happen if I had been in that place instead of Mounika. The thought itself is so scary,” she says.
Recalling the incident, Lalitha says that on the day of tragedy, she took the metro but an hour later. “I didn’t notice anything that day, but the next day learnt through the news about the accident. It is quite chilling.”
The Ameerpet station is a major intersection station, where commuters between Miyapur and Nagole changes lines. While hundreds board the metro train in Ameerpet, scores of students and pedestrians also use the pavement to reach their destination. Krishna is one such regular pedestrian here.
“Over the past two days, I am carefully walking on the pavement. It is indeed hard not to recall the accident when passing through the pillar. The government should definitely fix all these structures,” he says.
On Tuesday, following the tragic incident, engineers examined the metro pillar at the Ameerpet station. This came after KT Rama Rao, Minister of IT and Municipal Administration, instructed Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and check all structures and facilities in detail to prevent such an incident from occurring again.
Larsen and Toubro, the company which constructed the Hyderabad Metro projects, has agreed to pay Rs 20 lakhs as compensation to the victim’s family. However, the company has not apologized for the incident, nor have they specified what measures would be taken to ensure the safety of all commuters.