On Sunday, Narasimhaiah, housekeeping employee at a college hostel, was looking through a heap of garbage in Chandrappa Layout when something exploded.
The area is close to Bangalore Dairy and Mico, off an arterial road connecting south Bengaluru. Police later said it was a chemical blast. Many neighbours witnessed the incident. They say the blast was loud and scary.
Narasimhaiah (52) was rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, near NIMHANS, for treatment. Metrolife visited the hospital on Monday, and found he was being treated in the ICU.
The blast site is not a regular garbage dumping spot. A heap appeared only two weeks ago after a building was demolished to make way for Metro work.
Vijaya, living in a house near the blast site, told this reporter debris from the demolished building was partly cleared, and what had been left behind had turned into a garbage dump.
“People started throwing waste here. We saw Narasimhaiah sifting through this debris. He had already picked up some cartons and tied them together,” she says.
She then saw him pick up a large plastic bag and fill it with plastic bottles and covers. He took a stick and was poking the garbage when something exploded.
“The next thing I saw was that smoke was billowing. We rushed to see him lying in a pool of blood with his leg separated from his body,” recalls Vijaya.
Srinivas, who works in a metal company on the road, says it was providence that no children were playing when the blast occurred. “On Sunday afternoons, many children play cricket on this road because it is a dead end. It is sheer luck that no child was hurt,” he says.
The first thought among people in the area was that it was a transformer blast, common whenever it rains.
“This is how careless, unthinking people can endanger the lives of others. This could have claimed the man’s life,” he asks.
The road leading to Chandrappa Layout, where the incident occurred, is lined with shops selling granite slabs. One of the shops must have dumped the chemicals, police suspect.
Narasimhaiah’s wife Nagamma, daughter Gangamma and daughter-in-law Lakshmidevi were at the hospital on Monday. “He was the only breadwinner of the family,” Nagamma says.
Narasimhaiah had earlier suffered a severe shock when he was sweeping the hostel. “He was saved by alert bystanders who switched off the power. He has now lost his leg,” says an emotional Nagamma.
Lakshmidevi, who works as a domestic help in a few houses, earns a bit to feed her children. “My husband doesn’t go to work and I have to make ends meet,” she says.
Narasimhaiah’s treatment has already put a financial burden on the family. Told to stay in the ICU for a couple of days, he told Metrolife he had no clue what caused the blast.
“I was looking for plastic cups and bottles because I get some money when I sell them to the scrap shop. The last thing I remember was a loud explosion,” he says, struggling to talk.
Doctors have told him it will take months before he can start walking with an artificial limb. Doctors say they amputated his limb as soon as he was brought to the hospital.
“We didn’t want to waste time because it could have led to an infection. He has no pre-existing diseases like diabetes, so the healing shouldn’t be an issue,” a doctor attending to Narasimhaiah says.
Waste pickers most vulnerable
Nalini Shekar, cofounder Hasirudala, says that waste pickers are most vulnerable to such explosions. “One of our waste pickers, who is attached to our organisation, lost her limb when she was picking waste and a similar explosion happened. She was hurt when she was picking waste in an industrial area in Summanahalli. No amount of safety gear will help because it is no match to a chemical blast.” observes Nalini.
She adds that industries who don’t follow the standard procedure for disposal of chemical waste must be fined and licences cancelled. “Why should industrial waste come into municipal waste?” asks Nalini. “It is not the volume but the characteristic of waste that you throwing,” she adds.
Nalini Shekar, cofounder Hasirudala, says that waste pickers are most vulnerable to such explosions. “One of our waste pickers, who is attached to our organisation, lost her limb when she was picking waste and a similar explosion happened. She was hurt when she was picking waste in an industrial area in Summanahalli. No amount of safety gear will help because it is no match to a chemical blast.” observes Nalini.
She adds that industries who don’t follow the standard procedure for disposal of chemical waste must be fined and licences cancelled. “Why should industrial waste come into municipal waste?” asks Nalini. “It is not the volume but the characteristic of waste that you throwing,” she adds.
Investigation status
Srinath Joshi, DCP (South East) tells Metrolife that the chemical blast was caused because of a chemical named Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide was thrown in the open. “It was found in a plastic bottle. It is usually used for washing and polishing granite and marble. We have collected it and handed it over to the experts who will dispose it in a proper manner,” says Srinath. He suspects the blast could have occurred due to overexposure to sunlight. On whether the police has gathered any evidence yet? Srinath says, “A granite building was demolished because of the ongoing Metro Rail work. Some debris was left behind and that’s where the chemical was found. We are in the process of identifying which shop and who is responsible.” He says experts from the Forensic Science Lab and the police bomb squad had visited the spot and examined the chemicals. “It is sheer carelessness that has caused this accident,” he says.
Mixing waste attracts a heavy fine
Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management)
D Randeep and in-charge of Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli zones, tells Metrolife that the BBMP can directly fine defaulters for mixing of waste. “We can levy a penalty of anything between Rs 10,000 and two lakh, depending on the gravity of the offence,” says Randeep. He adds that BBMP staff always look through the landfills and carefully examine waste to see if chemical waste has been mixed. “We also see if we can find any evidence in terms of bills of purchase or boxes with company seals. This will help us get back at them. We then hand it over to the police or the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for further action,” he added.
Other chemical blast cases
A 45-year-old washerman died in May 2019 in Rajarajeshwarinagar when he came in contact with a chemical suspected to be methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP), dumped by an industry.
In 2019, an unused gelatin stick caused an explosion at HAL Layout, causing people in the vicinity to panic.
In 2018, two construction workers were injured in an explosion at a construction site at the Minerva Mills quarters on Magadi Road. The construction company had used gelatin sticks to break rocks to lay the foundation.
A waste picker lost a limb when she was picking waste in an industrial area near Sumanahalli in 2019.