Bowring Hospital wall exceeded height limit under building code: Lokayukta report

Bengaluru: The special team formed by Lokayukta to investigate the wall collapse at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Shivajinagar has submitted its report.

The wall collapse during heavy rain on April 29 killed seven people and left nine injured.

The report stated that the collapsed wall violated the National Building Code, which mandates that a public wall should not exceed 2.4 metres in height. However, the collapsed wall had been constructed up to 2.8 metres.

The report stated that the wall was damaged by a lorry during 2008 and 2009 and was later reconstructed using cement concrete blocks.

It also found that mud up to 1.8 metres in height had been dumped unscientifically on the hospital side of the wall.

According to the report, the structure was built as a self-weight wall instead of an earth-retaining structure. The self-weight wall did not have the capacity to withstand the dumped mud.

The report further noted that there was no provision for rainwater to drain into the sewage system, which increased pore pressure on the wall.

The investigation team also flagged the absence of a civil engineer despite the creation of a contractual post in 2024.

Highlighting lapses by the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), the report stated that footpath encroachments had not been cleared despite a High Court direction to rehabilitate occupants elsewhere.

The report also said civic agencies must identify and address dilapidated walls, unsafe buildings and vulnerable trees that could pose risks.

Consultations on the report were held with Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department (UDD) Tushar Girinath, GBA Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao and officials from the Medical Education Department.