A planned demolition of an old overhead water tank in south India went awry allegedly due to poor planning.

Civic officials had scheduled the demolition of a dilapidated water tank in the Lala Kaman area of Bellary city, Karnataka on October 28.

Local residents said the officials failed to correctly assess the perimeter where the debris would fall. They also failed to caution people who lived nearby, many of whom stayed too close to the falling structure.

As the water tank came down, a man who was standing too close ran for his life. The debris fell on a few houses making their residents cry in fear.

“It was just luck that no one was injured or killed,” said Shanappa Gavali, 34, a local resident.

Officials, however, denied any allegations of incompetence and stated that people refused to listen to them and stood too close to the demolition site.

A planned demolition of an old overhead water tank went awry allegedly due to poor planning.

Civic officials had scheduled the demolition of a dilapidated water tank in the Lala Kaman area of Bellary city in Karnataka state, India, on October 28.

Local residents said the officials failed to correctly assess the perimeter where the debris would fall. They also failed to caution people who lived nearby, many of who stayed too close to the falling structure.

As the water tank came down, a man who was standing too close ran for his life. The debris fell on a few houses making their residents cry in fear.


“It was just luck that none was injured or killed,” said Shanappa Gavali, 34, who lives in the area.

Officials, however, denied that they had botched-up the demolition and said people refused to listen to them and stood too close.