BWSSB Worker Brijesh Remains Missing After Falling Into Balegere STP

An outsourced Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) labourer remains missing and is feared drowned after falling into a wet well at a sewage treatment plant in Balegere, Varthur, on the evening of June 18. Despite a continuous search operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Fire and Emergency Services personnel, the body of the worker, identified as Brijesh (alias Akilesh), has not been recovered.

According to emergency officials, the sewage treatment plant (STP) is over 40 feet deep and 80 feet in diameter. The high flow of water inside the plant, combined with a five-foot layer of accumulated waste, plastic, and sludge, has severely hindered recovery efforts. The plant is covered with only a small opening, making rescue operations highly challenging.

Rescue personnel have utilized an excavator, specialized sensors to detect the body, and conducted manual searches using oxygen tanks. Rescuers suspect that Brijesh's body may have been pulled into one of the plant's six pumps or buried beneath the thick sludge. Emergency teams are currently inspecting all the pumps.

The accident occurred when three workers fell into the wet well while repairing a gate. One worker, Karthik, managed to escape and raised an alarm. However, Brijesh and a supervising engineer, 30-year-old Agilan Mohan, were swept away by the strong current inside the plant. Mohan's body was recovered in the early hours of the following Saturday.

Following the incident, the Varthur police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Chennai-based firm VA Tech Wabag Ltd, which holds the contract to operate and maintain the STP. The firm has been booked under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for causing death by negligence.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Mahithihakku Horatagara Samithi (KMHS) held a one-hour silent protest in front of the BWSSB office, demanding Rs 50 lakh in compensation for the families of the two victims. KMHS members met BWSSB Chief Administrator Madan Mohan, urging the board to make the private agency pay the compensation.