Heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds claimed a seven-year-old girl's life in Kaveripura near Mahadevapura here on Sunday. The girl died on the spot after a concrete solid block came crashing on her residence in the rain.
The victim, Shilpa, daughter of Srinivas, a labourer, was watching television when the block pierced through the roof sheets of her house and crashed on her head. Sunil, son of her neighbour Siddappa, who was watching television with the girl, was injured in the head, according to N. Pillanna, Bruhat Bangalore Mahangara Palike councillor from Garudacharpalya ward which covers Kaveripura.
Mr. Pillanna told The Hindu that the incident occurred at 7 p.m. Srinivas's neighbour Siddappa had placed concrete solid blocks over the roof sheets of his residence to protect the sheets.
The gusty winds, however, blew away the sheets in which process the concrete blocks too fell down. A few such blocks fell on the roof of Srinivas's house claiming the girl's life, he said.
Palike Joint Commissioner (Mahadevapura Zone) B. Heera Naik, who along with other senior officials visited the spot, said that the wind was blowing at a speed of 70 km per hour in the region when the incident took place.
The parents of the victim will be paid Rs. 1 lakh compensation on Monday, while the palike will bear the medical expenses of the injured boy, Mr. Naik said.
Trees come down
Pre-monsoon showers in the evening for more than three hours brought down several trees and tree branches in different parts of the city. As much as 16.3 mm rainfall was recorded till 8.30 p.m. The Department of Meteorology has forecast rain or thundershowers in some parts of the city on Monday too.
The overflowing Nayandahalli Tank's Raja Kaluve near Rajarajeshwarinagar Arch affected vehicular movement on Bangalore-Mysore Road for more than two hours. Palike personnel rushed to the spot to clear the drain, and also traffic.