BBMP trains mist cannon on hapless pedestrians!

Y Maheswara Reddy| NT

Bengaluru: Commuters waiting at the Parsi Fire Temple Bus Stop on Queens Road were outraged when they were hit by a sudden spray of cold water, which left them drenched. The havoc, it turned out, was caused by a BBMP mist cannon vehicle whose driver didn’t feel the need to alert pedestrians and other commuters first.

Motorists, pedestrians and residents of Park Road, near Balekundri Circle and Sri Dandu Mariamman Temple in Shivajinagar have dealt with extreme inconvenience for months. A footpath development project undertaken by the Bangalore Smart City Limited was marred by delays, caused by rains and the festival season. It was completed on December 11, until which time the air was choked with dust, while construction debris and sand piles covered what was left of the pavements.

The BBMP did not concern itself with residents’ woes, or make any effort to mitigate them. People heading to the Ghousia Maternity Hospital were among the worst hit. On Tuesday, however, they decided it was time to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles along the stretch.The BBMP deployed a mist cannon vehicle to spray water along the main road.

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of pedestrians were startled by a sudden spray of cold water as they waited for buses at the Parsi Fire Temple Bus Stop on Queens Road. Their surprise quickly turned to outrage when they realised the source - a mist cannon deployed by the BBMP!

“I was shocked to see my shirt getting drenched. The vehicle driver was negligent and irresponsible. He should have asked us to move away from the bus stop before he sprayed water everywhere,” said Raghu S., a commuter waiting to board a BMTC bus to Rajajinagar.

Condemning the BBMP for failing to use mist cannons when the road development work was underway, causing severe air pollution along the road, Sujatha R., a commuter, demanded why they didn’t sprinkle water on the road three times a day. “What’s the use of wasting fuel and manpower to use the mist cannon vehicle when the road has already been asphalted,” she asked.

Another commuter, pleading anonymity, has compared the BBMP sending mist cannon vehicles with the climax of an action film, where police vehicles come screeching in at the last moment. BBMP Chief Engineer BS Prahlad was not available for comment.