The wall collapse incident in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, which left nine children dead, may have been caused by loud music, according to local residents. The children, in the 8 to 15 years age group, were sitting next to a dilapidated house's wall during a religious ceremony in the adjoining Hardaul Baba temple when the incident took place yesterday.
Owned by Mulu Patel, the dilapidated house is about 50 years old and was precariously supported by bamboo beams. Around 9 am yesterday, loud music from a DJ set-up started playing in the temple. On the itinerary of the religious event was Bhagwat Katha and making small clay shivlings. The children were doing this when the wall, already run down by heavy rain in the area, collapsed on top of the children. Nine children died and two were injured.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav yesterday said he was pained by the incident and announced an assistance of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the children who died. The state government also cracked down on local officials, shunting out the district collector Deepak Arya and police chief Abhishek Tiwari, among others. Two officials of the local Shahpur municipality also faced action. Police have registered cases against house owner Mulu Kushwaha and organisers of the religious ceremony, Shiv Patel and Sanjeev Patel. All three have been taken into custody.
Local residents said it was the loud music that caused vibrations and brought down the wall, already damaged by heavy rain. Local councillor Raja Yadav said, "The wall was already old and weakened by continuous rain. The loud DJ music caused vibrations that led to the wall's collapse."
The parents of some of the children, heartbroken by the loss, also said the music was very loud and caused the dilapidated wall to collapse.
Dr Rakesh Gupta, an ENT specialist, said vibrations due to loud music can further weaken walls damp due to rain and are also extremely harmful for humans. "Loud DJ music is extremely hazardous. The vibrations from loud music can cause weak structures to collapse, especially when walls are damp due to rain. DJ music's sound levels are often higher than 145 decibels. This creates intense vibrations. For an average person, an exposure to sound levels above 55 decibels for more than five minutes can be harmful," he said.
Loud music at religious places has been a key focus area of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh ever since Mr Yadav took over as Chief Minister last year. He had earlier banned use of loudspeakers above permitted decibel levels. This crackdown was later extended to DJ systems too, frequently used at religious events.
The Chief Minister has also directed officers to identify dilapidated buildings across the state and take action so that such incidents don't recur.
