Nagarabhavi milk vendor injured after falling on dark road with defunct streetlight

A milk vendor sustained serious injuries and lost nearly 20 litres of milk after falling from his two-wheeler in Nagarabhavi on Sunday morning. The accident, which occurred at around 5:25 am, was caused by a non-functioning streetlight that left the road in complete darkness, preventing the vendor from seeing a large stone left on the road.

According to local resident Srikant, the stretch of road had been dark for weeks. Heavy rain had caused an electric pole to collapse about a month ago. Although Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) officials repaired the pole, the streetlight was never fully restored and continued to malfunction. Residents had lodged a formal complaint about the faulty light nearly two weeks prior to the accident, but no action was taken.

On the morning of the accident, the vendor tripped over a large stone. Another resident noted that truck operators frequently parked their vehicles along the stretch and placed these large stones beneath the tyres as wheel chocks to prevent them from moving. Without working streetlights, the obstacle was impossible to see.

Following the incident, Srikant posted about the accident on the social media platform X, criticizing the lack of timely action by civic authorities. The post questioned who should be held accountable when negligence in maintaining basic infrastructure results in injuries.

The social media post prompted a response from BESCOM officials, who acknowledged receiving the complaint. While they initially forwarded the issue to their engineering team, officials later clarified that the faulty streetlight did not fall under BESCOM’s jurisdiction.

This response has frustrated Nagarabhavi residents, who expressed anger over the lack of clarity regarding which civic agency is responsible for maintaining the streetlights. Srikant stated that residents do not want to be treated like a football with departments passing responsibility to one another.

Attempts to contact officials from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) West Zone, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, for clarification went unanswered.