Bengaluru: Nearly two months after a section of Bowring Hospital compound wall collapsed in heavy rain claiming seven lives, the damaged portions remain unrepaired. Officials attributed the delay to administrative hurdles and a change in the agency responsible for the work.The wall belongs to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute, which functions under the department of medical education. However, civil works on the campus had been entrusted to the engineering wing of the health department.Acting on directions from the medical education department, the health department’s chief engineer prepared an estimate of Rs 55 lakh for reconstructing the 200-metre stretch of the wall. Officials said the proposal was submitted along with a request for exemption under Section 4(G) of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act to expedite the work.However, the exemption was not granted. Instead, the project was transferred to Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development (KRIDL), formerly Karnataka Land Army Corporation. KRIDL is exempt from the conventional tendering process for public works valued at up to Rs 2 crore.Health department chief engineer JR Mukkanna Naik noted they would have required only seven days to invite tenders and three days to evaluate bids and issue a work order. “Had the work remained with us, the reconstruction could have been completed by now,” he said.Medical college officials said they remain uncertain about when the wall will be rebuilt. According to Dr HM Srikanth, coordinating officer at the medical college, KRIDL engineers are conducting soil tests before starting construction.
