Rain brought much-needed relief from the sweltering humidity, but it also carried a shadow of tragedy. According to media reports, Okhla’s neighbouring area Jaitpur was struck by a devastating incident on Saturday, when relentless heavy rainfall in the national Capital caused a portion of a wall to collapse. The incident claimed the lives of at least eight people, three men, two women, and two children, plunging the locality into grief.
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The deceased have been identified as Shabibul (30), Rabibul (30), Ali (45), Rubina (25), Dolly (25), Ruqsana (6) and Hasina (7), reported India TV. Hasibul, aged 25, was injured and rushed to the hospital and all were residents of Jaitpur.
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The people, mostly scrap sellers, living in jhuggis in Jaitpur were trapped after the wall adjoining an old temple collapsed suddenly. The injured were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS. However, all of them died during treatment.
Police said the jhuggis have been evacuated to prevent such incidents in future.
Aishwarya Sharma, Additional DCP South East (Delhi), said: “There is an old temple here, and next to it are old jhuggies where scrap dealers live. The wall collapsed due to heavy rain overnight. 8 people were trapped and were rescued and taken to the hospital. They are undergoing treatment. We don’t know how many people died, but according to us, 3-4 people are seriously injured, who may not survive. We have now evacuated these jhuggies so that no such incident occurs in future.”
News of the deaths in neighbouring Jaitpur near Mohan Baba Mandir in Harinagar spread like wildfire across Okhla, where residents expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy. Although the area does not fall under the Okhla Assembly constituency, many people with connections to Jamia Nagar live in Jaitpur, making the loss feel close to home.
It turns out these people were originally from outside Delhi from Bengal and had been living here for about 10 years some for even 12 years.
Earlier in the day, a section of the wall gave way, trapping several people underneath the debris. In response, the Delhi Fire Services swiftly launched a rescue operation, working against the clock to pull survivors and victims from the rubble.
The fire department said it received a call regarding the incident at 9:16 am, and immediately, fire tenders were rushed to the spot along with the police teams, according to Delhi Fire Services. The wall collapsed due to heavy rain overnight, according to the police.
Police said a case is being registered under appropriate sections of law, and an investigation will be taken up. “We will look into the structural condition of the wall, ownership, and any negligence involved. Statements of witnesses and survivors will be recorded,” the officer said.
A senior DFS official said: “The intensity of the rain since Friday night has been very high, which may have led to weakening of structures in low-lying and vulnerable areas. In this case, we are still examining whether poor maintenance, construction defects, or natural causes triggered the collapse.”
Saturday saw Delhi battered by relentless heavy rainfall, triggering severe waterlogging in multiple areas, including Okhla. The intensity of the downpour prompted the weather department to issue a red alert for the city, later revised to yellow as conditions slightly eased.
The deluge also disrupted flight operations, causing delays and cancellations at the capital’s airports.
According to data from the India Meteorological Department, Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 78.7 mm of rainfall by 8:30 am, while Pragati Maidan saw 100 mm, Lodhi Road 80 mm, Pusa 69 mm, and Palam 31.8 mm. The city woke up to a pleasantly cool 23.8°C — 3.2 degrees below the seasonal average — with forecasters predicting the day’s maximum temperature to hover around 32°C.
“Over half a dozen calls of wall collapse incidents have been received since morning”, Indian Express reported, citing an official from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS).
Some Okhla residents were reminded of a similar tragedy just two months ago, when the wall of an illegally constructed, dilapidated building which was punctured by the agency had collapsed in Zakir Nagar’s Pahalwan Chowk. In that incident, a young child was critically injured and had been battling for his life in hospital. Sadly, despite weeks of treatment, he succumbed to his injuries a few days ago, leaving his grieving parents still seeking justice for the loss of their son.
