Bengaluru cylinder blast: Tragedy-hit Kundalahalli PG had a pending demolition order

Bengaluru: The cylinder blast incident at a Paying Guest (PG) accommodation in Kundalahalli, which claimed the life of one and left three injured, could have been avoided, claim Brookfield residents, because the building had a demolition order pending since 2023. 

Residents of Brookfield have been protesting against the 7 Hills Sai Co-Living PG, located near Ryan International School, ever since the building’s construction began in 2020, they told DH. 

“It’s a 1,200 sq ft space, and they’ve built a ground plus six-floor building, with no setbacks and zero regard for fire safety,” a resident, who has been living in the neighbourhood for about 18 years, told DH when this reporter visited the spot. “It was a disaster waiting to happen, and the BBMP authorities were aware of it and rightly issued a demolition order. But since the owner has approached the court against it, it was stayed.”  

The recent fire is said to have caused damage to the neighbouring buildings because the PG stands sandwiched between another PG and a private residence. 

The demolition order issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) stated that the building owner, Vishnuvardhan Reddy, had not obtained a sanctioned plan from the BBMP for the construction of the multi-storied building.

It also noted that the owner had not replied to the Provisional Order and had also failed to remove the unauthorised portion of the building.

Prior to this, authorities had also ordered a stay on the construction, which was then supposed to be a ground-floor plus five-storey building. 

Cramped conditions

The PG, with 47 rooms in total, had about 55 people. Of the 47 rooms, one room on the ground floor had been converted into a kitchen space, while two more rooms on the ground floor were used to house staff members. 

The staff who stayed on the premises included a housekeeper, Deepak, and a cook, Mukesh, along with his assistant. The manager, Roja, stayed off the premises and would mostly visit in the evenings, said residents.

Early warnings ignored  

On Monday, the day of the cylinder blast, there were two commercial cylinders and one domestic cylinder available on the premises — all placed on the ground floor. Of these, one cylinder, which was placed outside the kitchen in the common cooking area, had a noticeable leak, said the PG inhabitants. 

“A few people had informed me about the gas leak and smell before 3 pm, and I had informed Mukesh about this. However, he merely toggled with it, which led to a hissing sound and a pungent gas smell. Despite this, Mukesh said everything seemed fine, and he’d take care of it. He was always distracted by his phone,” Deepak, the housekeeper, told DH. 

On Monday the day of the cylinder blast there were two commercial cylinders and one domestic cylinder available on the premises — all placed on the ground floor.

Despite the cramped conditions within the PG, it remained one of the better accommodations in the neighbourhood, said Rahul, a 22-year-old software engineer who’d moved into this PG six months back.

Rahul, along with several others, jumped over to the neighbouring buildings to save themselves from the fire. 

“As we noticed smoke entering our floor, we panicked. Due to a lack of ventilation, smoke and soot started travelling up the building. We covered our noses and eyes with whatever was available and went to the terrace and jumped over to the next building,” he shared, adding that a bigger tragedy was avoided as a large number of the PG residents were out of town for the winter holidays.