‘I promised her a cycle’: Survivors and families recount horror of Bengaluru wall collapse

Musaveer Begum, a 6-year-old girl from Kadugondanahalli, died just days before her birthday on May 3. She had come for shopping with her aunts, who were both injured.

Her brother Javed had promised her a new bicycle for her birthday on May 3. “I told her I would get it in a couple of days. She agreed, then went shopping with our aunts,” he wept.

Smitha, 47, and Latha, 57, tourists from Kerala, were also among those trapped and died. Nasimulla, 19, a radium sticker cutter from Assam, was the seventh victim.

‘Crashed in seconds’

The street, flanked by the historic St Mary’s Basilica and Russell Market, is usually a bustling hub. Vendors used the hospital’s high compound wall as a makeshift backrest, often pinning blue tarpaulins to it for shelter.

Materials such as toys, purses, clothing, and various household items are sold, primarily to low-income city residents. Business was normal on Wednesday until it started to rain.

“I left the area as the business was slow. As the rain began, many people rushed to take shelter under the tarpaulin. Suddenly, the wall collapsed, and no one could escape. Everything crashed in front of me in a matter of seconds,” Khan recalled.

Suhail, a street vendor, lost his brother, who was trapped under the debris just a few meters away. “We have been selling purses and chappals here for the past 20 years, and this is the first time such a tragedy has occurred,” said Suhail.

“I was standing a little farther away when the wall suddenly collapsed. My brother Fayaz was right there… he had no chance to escape. He was the sole breadwinner of our family, leaving behind his wife and two children.”

According to a government official, civic authorities had attempted to evict roadside vendors from the area a few days earlier as part of an anti-encroachment drive, but local traders resisted.

No safety measures: Lokayukta chief

Karnataka Lokayukta chief justice BS Patil visited the site Thursday morning and said they would take up a suo motu case against the responsible authorities, while also addressing the larger picture.

“The officials informed me that the compound is approximately 20 to 25 years old and that a significant amount of construction debris has been dumped there,” said Patil.

“The foundation is weak, and large stones have been left on-site. More importantly, it raises the question of why innocent traders were allowed to operate without any safety measures. This situation appears to be a case of negligence. I will be summoning the joint commissioner and the chief engineer of the corporation,” he added.

According to local residents, construction was underway at Bowring Hospital, where materials such as debris, stones, and mud were stored against the interior wall.

One of them said, “The debris piled against the wall reached about four feet in height, which affected the foundation. The wall tilted slightly, but we never imagined it would collapse. The weight of the cement blocks and large stones caused the wall to tilt.”

KR Circle underpass flooded again

The KR Circle underpass, which witnessed a tragic death during flooding three years ago, was once again submerged after heavy rains on Wednesday, raising new concerns about ongoing civic failures.

In May 2023, a 23-year-old tech professional from Andhra Pradesh lost her life after her car became trapped in a flooded underpass. This incident sparked widespread outrage and led to inspections by senior officials. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) assured the public that corrective measures would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.

After the tragedy, authorities initiated desilting and drainage works to prevent waterlogging. However, the recent flooding has raised serious doubts about the effectiveness of these interventions, as the underpass has once again become unusable.

Despite the police setting up barricades and blocking entry and exit points on Wednesday, officials have not yet taken immediate action, reportedly waiting for the water to recede. A police officer at the scene said that the accumulated water cannot be pumped out due to a lack of a proper drainage outlet, warning that pumping it out could result in flooding in nearby areas.

The flooding caused significant traffic disruptions near KR Circle, close to Vidhana Soudha, with congestion continuing into this morning.

As of 9.15 am Thursday, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) received 226 complaints regarding tree falls and 623 reports of fallen branches due to the rain Wednesday evening. Another wall collapse incident was reported in Binnypet Thursday morning, but no casualties or injuries were reported.