Youth critically injured as giant tree collapses in Bengaluru

K V Rajashekhar. Credit: Special Arrangement

A giant peepal tree at the Cunningham Road-Millers Road junction, also known as Chandrika Hotel junction, collapsed on Friday evening, causing serious injuries to an 18-year-old pedestrian.

Doctors treating the youth said his condition is critical.

K V Rajashekhar, a student from Chikkaballapur, was walking by when the tree crashed on him. The impact shattered his pelvic bone and caused severe internal bleeding. A doctor at Manipal Vikram Hospital on Millers Road said Rajashekhar is critical because of multiple fractures and blood loss.

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Traffic police said the tree, which split into three, fell gradually while clearance efforts were on. The first part fell around 7.15 pm, while the remainder tumbled down around 9 pm.

Shrimanth, a police constable on duty nearby, rushed to the scene and found several vehicles crushed under the fallen tree. “Some branches and leaves grazed my skin, but I haven't suffered any injuries. I'm just shaken by the accident,” he said.

The traffic police, law enforcement, and the BBMP's forest department are involved in the rescue and clean-up efforts.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) MN Anucheth said that authorities found seven cars crushed under the disintegrated tree as of 9 pm, while three two-wheelers have also come under the weight of the disintegrating branches. However, the exact number of affected vehicles cannot be determined yet as the rescue efforts were ongoing.

In addition to Rajashekhar, two others sustained minor injuries, including a person with a dislocated shoulder, Anucheth added.

Traffic police have rerouted vehicles from Balekundri Circle and Kalpana Circle, leading to significant traffic jams in the area due to the accident.

First 48 hrs critical

Dr Harshita, one of the doctors treating Rajashekhar, told DH that his pelvic bone has broken into multiple pieces leading to severe internal blood loss.

“He has presented what is called a severe shock or a 'class 4' shock. He is currently being resuscitated in the ER with fluid and blood transfusions,” Dr Harshita said.

“We have taken him to the operation theatre to control his bleeding. He is very critical at the moment, but we are trying our best. The first 48 to 72 hours will remain critical,” she added.

He came to city to clear father’s debts

Native of a tiny hamlet in Chikkaballapur, Rajashekhar arrived in Bengaluru just 20 days ago to pursue a course at the Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training.

His disabled father works with the panchayat office back home, while his mother grazes cattle and brother, a high school goer, is mentally ill.

Rajashekhar's maternal uncle K Ganesh, a driver with a private company in North Bengaluru’s Byrathi, told DH that coming to Bengaluru was the only option for Rajashekhar to drag his family out of debt.

"Rajashekhar was working part-time and funding his education with that money,” Ganesh said. “His father is the only breadwinner. Rajashekhar came to the city to find a job, clear his father's debts, and make both ends meet."

His friends and teachers, who rushed to the hospital, described Rajashekhar as a studious boy who wished to become a lawyer. Enraged by the incident, they accused the BBMP of complacency in maintaining the city’s trees.

Tree disintegrated by concretisation?

A senior BBMP forest department official told DH that massive concretisation had choked the tree’s roots, depriving them of water, nutrients, and respiration.

"Sufficient space must be left around trees, but here the space is filled with cement and tar. The roots are chopped to make way for sewage lines,” said the official.

He said this has been the case with most footpaths where trees stand tall.

A senior BBMP official claims the civic body regularly prunes weak and dry branches.

"This tree was strong, live and healthy, and had no reason to fall. We identify dead tree barks and dangerously protruding branches and regularly cut them," said the official.