Mud wall collapses; three including two children killed in West Bengal

A wall of an unstable mud house collapsed in West Bengal’s Mandir Bazar area in South 24 Parganas and killed three people, including two minors from a family. Locals said the affected family was in the process of making a concrete house under the Banglar Bari Scheme of the West Bengal Government, as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana remain suspended in the State since 2021. 

Mandir Bazar area which comes under the Sundarbans delta region of West Bengal has been battling incessant rains since the past few days. The rains said to have triggered the wall collapse on Thursday (September 4, 2025) night which led to the fatal accident and death of the three family members. The locals discovered the bodies on Friday morning (September 5, 2025). 

The three victims have been identified as Brihaspati Karmakar, who lived with her two daughters Sheela Karmakar (15), and Priya Karmakar (10). 

“We went to the location in the morning and recovered the body. Post-mortem is being done at the Diamond Harbour hospital in our area,” Gautam Saha, Inspector at the Mandir Bazar Police station told The Hindu on Friday (September 5, 2025). He also added that there was no one else in the house at the time of the accident which is why the accident came to light only the next morning. 

Government housing scheme 

“The fatal accident occurred owing to the unstable mud structure of the house,” locals have accused. This has once again brought to the fore the issue of the PM Awas Yojana scheme money being suspended in the State since 2021. This happened owing to the alleged irregularities and corruption, which the State Government has denied. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on multiple occasions have accused that the Central Government has wrongfully stopped the funds of the affordable housing scheme affecting multiple economically backward families in the State. 

In a counter response, Ms. Banerjee started her own government’s affordable housing scheme “Banglar Bari” for the rural poor on December 2024. 

Under the scheme, a total of ₹1.20 lakh will be given to a family for constructing a house, of which ₹60,000 in the first instalment. However, beneficiaries in some areas of Jangalmahal and Dargeeling hills will get ₹1.30 lakh. 

Speaking at the scheme’s launch, the Chief Minister said that another 18 lakh beneficiaries will be given the scheme’s benefit in 2025. 

“We are yet to receive ₹24,000 crore from the Centre. But I had said that we are not asking for any alms. If the Centre does not release the funds then we will under our own scheme,” Ms. Banerjee said while launching the scheme last year.