BENGALURU: Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds on Friday evening turned fatal for an autorickshaw driver after a compound wall of a private club collapsed on his vehicle in west Bengaluru. According to the preliminary investigation by Vijayanagar police, Shivaboraiah, a resident of Gangondanahalli, had parked his autorickshaw by the roadside near Vijayanagar Club in Hampinagar when the incident occurred around 7.40pm. Amid heavy rain, the club’s compound wall, estimated to be seven to eight feet high, suddenly collapsed. The massive wall reportedly fell on the parked auto, trapping Shivaboraiah inside. He was crushed between the mangled vehicle and the debris, and died on the spot. Shocked bystanders immediately alerted police, fire department, and emergency services personnel. Rescue teams rushed to the scene and began clearing the debris, but Shivaboraiah was already dead. A senior police officer said the victim’s family had been informed. A case will be registered based on the complaint filed by the family. Investigation is under way to ascertain what caused the wall to collapse. This is the second wall collapse incident being reported in the city in the last one month. The wall collapse was one of several incidents reported from across the city as the downpour left a trail of disruption in many areas. Ahead of the likely advance of southwest monsoon over Karnataka, intense pre-monsoon thundershowers swept across central and southwest Bengaluru Friday evening, flooding major roads and junctions, uprooting trees, and throwing traffic out of gear. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru city saw 46mm of rainfall while HAL airport area received 20.8mm till 8.30 pm. IMD officials said rain is likely to intensify in the coming days as monsoon strengthens over southern peninsula and is expected to advance further. The evening downpour inundated several low-lying stretches in central Bengaluru, including Kumara Krupa Road towards Shivananda Junction, Queen’s Road towards Anil Kumble Circle, Vittal Mallya Road, and Cantonment Railway underpass near Mehkri Circle. Flooding was also reported at KR Market towards SJP Road. In southwest Bengaluru, stretches on Mysuru Road, including Chamarajpet, BHEL Junction and Nayandahalli, witnessed severe waterlogging that led to long traffic snarls during peak evening hours. Traffic police personnel and civic workers were deployed at multiple locations to clear clogged stormwater drain inlets and ease traffic movement. Emergency personnel removed uprooted trees from Kumaraswamy Layout, Vidyaranyapura and Outer Ring Road near PES University after roads were blocked and commuters stranded for nearly two hours. On Thursday evening too, 68 trees were uprooted, mainly in west and south Bengaluru.
