At 1 am on Thursday, when most of the city was asleep, some residents of a lane in Okhla Village were wide awake. A sudden collapse of part of Jamia Millia Islamia’s boundary wall shattered the eerie night silence. The loud thud jolted residents from their homes. Fearing the worst, they rushed to the spot. There they found a section of the wall lying in rubble.
Locals said the wall, long weakened by neglect and piled-up garbage, could have caused a major tragedy if children or passersby had been nearby. “It sounded like a bomb blast,” one resident recalled.
Nobody hurt in Jamia wall collapse
Word spread quickly through the lanes of Okhla. Neighbours gathered, worried that more of the wall might fall. Among them was Mahmood Ahmed, who recorded residents’ concerns as they stood near the broken structure, thankful that no one had been hurt this time.
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“It was around 1 am. Suddenly, a loud sound came, as if a bomb had exploded,” said a resident, standing near the broken wall. “Thank God it was night. No children were around, otherwise anything could have happened.”
The rubble blocked a key passage used by residents to reach the bus stand. Fortunately, there were no casualties. “There was no loss of life or property,” a local resident said, pointing to the rubble scattered across the narrow lane. The collapsed structure, nearly 8–9 feet high, had fallen from both sides.
The open and vacant space of Jamia was being used as a dumping ground, a common practice in Jamia Nagar, where many residents, to avoid paying ₹150 a month for waste collection, throw garbage on the road, in open plots, or even on rooftops and vacant buildings. Like many other areas in Delhi, there is no proper arrangement for door-to-door garbage collection here, and the work has been left to private operators. Over the years, the locality has turned into a dumping ground.
On Thursday morning, local Councillor Nazia Danish also visited the spot with her workers to take stock of the situation after she was informed by the local residents. “Whatever bricks were blocking the way, my team is removing them,” she said while inspecting the site.
Wall collapse: Councillor condemns local residents, systemic neglect
Standing amid the broken wall and heaps of rubbish, the Councillor condemned both local residents’ habits of dumping garbage in the open and systemic neglect. “This is Jamia land, and what you see here is not a designated dump yard. But people have turned it into one. You will find every kind of waste here: Old mattresses, torn shoes, food containers, diapers, even used sanitary napkins. Residents from nearby buildings are responsible for throwing it all down,” she said, pointing towards surrounding four-storey buildings.
However, she was quick to add that the problem goes beyond individual negligence. “Yes, people are partly at fault. But more than them, it is the government and the system that are responsible. When no proper waste collection points or dumping sites are provided, where will people throw their garbage? Should they dump it inside their homes?”
The Councillor, who belongs to the Congress party, launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party’s governance in Delhi. “For ten years, Arvind Kejriwal ruled as Chief Minister, and for two and a half years his party controlled the MCD. They promised to make Delhi dump-free, to remove garbage mountains. But what has happened? Every lane, every empty plot, every corner has been turned into a dump. Minority localities like Okhla have been left to rot.”
According to her, repeated requests for sanitation resources like trucks, loaders, and tippers were ignored by authorities. “They say they will only pick up household garbage, not construction waste, because companies don’t profit from it. So the debris remains here. Tell me, who is responsible for the collapse of this colony, of this entire neglected Delhi?”
Health hazard for residents
The Councillor also warned of mosquito breeding and health risks due to the filth. “Look at the wires, the mess, the water. Mosquitoes are breeding here, diseases will spread. And yet, the administration does nothing,” she said.
Residents, too, expressed frustration. “We filed complaints multiple times, but nothing was done. No cleaning, no response. Now the wall has fallen, tomorrow more may collapse,” one villager remarked.
The wall collapse blocked the only lane leading to nearly 10 homes. Residents now fear that the rest of the leaning wall could also come down anytime. Pointing to the structure, one resident said: “Look, the wall is completely leaning, bulging out… it can collapse anytime.”
Another added: “There are ten houses in this lane and this is the only passage. If the wall falls, it will block the way for children and everyone else.”
The wall stands adjacent to a large, debris-filled plot belonging to Jamia. Locals say garbage dumping and lack of maintenance weakened the foundation. Eyewitnesses said a Jamia security guard did visit after the incident but reportedly told residents that supervisors would look into it in the morning.
The collapsed structure lies near tea and food stalls that are usually crowded during the day.
Residents are now demanding urgent intervention, fearing that without immediate repairs, the crumbling wall could lead to a disaster.
As the morning wore on, the broken wall and the mountain of garbage symbolized more than just a safety hazard for many in Okhla, it stood as evidence of years of systemic neglect, political blame-shifting, and a failure of governance.
Residents have long demanded action against those who dump garbage in the open just to save a few rupees. However, many locals, including habitual offenders, argue that the authorities should place dustbins in accessible locations so that residents can dispose of their waste properly. To tackle the root cause of the garbage menace, Shaheen Bagh Councillor Ariba Khan has urged residents to share photos and videos of those dumping waste in the open, assuring that she will ensure heavy fines are imposed on the violators. It would be interesting to see how things shape up in coming days.
