Bengaluru: Barely 500 metres apart from KR Pura railway station, several residents live with constant fear of losing their life and property. The basement of the residential layout bordering the railway line had part of its basement eroded Tuesday, risking several lives.According to local residents, the partial collapse occurred after a concrete retaining wall was constructed a week ago. The wall was built as part of the quadrupling works along the KR Pura-Byappanhalli line, a key project to ease rail congestion in the city.Along with residential buildings, the stretch, part of the NR Layout in Doorvani Nagar, also houses an Anugraha AG church, which hosts Sunday masses with 50 families. “Lot of children play around in this area and devotees, including young and the elderly, come here every Sunday to participate in the holy mass. Now, the situation is risky as the platform can erode any time,” said Goodfy Solvin, the treasurer of the church.“Two days ago I was standing here,” Solvin explains while pointing at a pit which used to be a well-concreted platform a few days ago. The residents lodged a complaint with South Western Railway (SWR) on Tuesday.On Wednesday, engineers from SWR visited the site and promised to resolve the issue. Though parts of the area have been barricaded, cracks were visible near the residential buildings during a reality check by TOI. Vehicles travelling by the area continue to create relatively high vibrations in the ground.A tree that was removed during the process also contributed to the life-threatening situation. “When they (SWR) removed it, the roots ran deep into the basements of our houses. They visited the spot but till today (Thursday) nothing has been done, nor a fixed timeline has been assured to sort out the issue,” said Venkatesh S, a resident.Venkatesh also demanded that once the issue is sorted, the retaining wall should be raised a few feet higher above the platform level. “Right now, the wall is at a lower height than the road, a lot of children roam around this area especially during the church days. There is a risk of them falling into the railway track. On the opposite side, the wall is built higher, but the residential area has been exposed,” he added. SWR, however, maintained that the safety of the residential buildings have been taken care off. “There is adequate distance between the retaining wall and the residential buildings. The wall will be raised above road level to safeguard the road and nearby houses. The work is being planned to be completed within a week,” an official said.
