'Torn shirts, trousers hung on barbed wire fence': Scars remain as stadium staff pick up the pieces; fans delayed medical aid, says medical staffer after Bengaluru stampede

BENGALURU: Home ground of newly crowned IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the central business district stood Thursday as a grim reminder of the unprecedented tragedy that befell the city the previous evening, one that claimed 11 fans of the franchise.Together with a few lakh others, the 11 had gathered to participate in RCB’s success parade. What unfolded on Wednesday evening was a disaster that indelibly scarred the city. Signs of the stampede and carnage were there for all to see.Torn shirts and trousers hung on the barbed wire fence atop the compound wall outside the main gate of the stadium, testimony to fans trying to get in any which way. Trampled remains of flora from Cubbon Park lay strewn around as did hundreds of pairs of footwear of all shapes, sizes and hues.Workers spent hours collecting trash, footwear, torn clothes besides broken spectacles, caps and flags. Barring a few curious bystanders who watched from a distance, a heavy posse of policemen dominated the arena. Karnataka State Cricket Association officials were either in a huddle in their cabins or were staying out of sight.Telling aftermathInside the stadium, the aftermath was even more telling. Broken doors, damaged staircases, sanitation wash basins and accessories, collapsed walls, and twisted fencing were all over.

One of the worst affected areas in the stadium was the KSCA ‘B’ grounds and the tennis courts which are closest to Cubbon Park metro station. Some of the fans had gained ingress by scaling the walls there.While the physical damage to infrastructure will be repaired in time, people who had to clean up the mess are unlikely to forget the scene.Abhigayle (name changed), an 18-year-old staffer, said of Wednesday evening’s nightmare, “It was heartbreaking seeing so many young fans in distress.

The victims’ families were crying and carrying their loved ones from the main gate. We stayed till 8pm. I didn’t sleep until early morning after seeing all that.”‘People falling, limping’A security guard, who returned to work barely 12 hours after what he described as the scariest day in his life, recalled, “We saw people falling, limping, screaming in pain. The scenes kept playing out in my mind through the night. All my life, I’ll probably carry the guilt of not doing enough to help them.”‘Fans delayed medical aid’RCB’s medical partners, a reputed chain of private hospitals, were informed about the celebrations early Wednesday morning and by noon, they had 10 ambulances strategically positioned inside the stadium as well as along the route of RCB’s convoy.But the crowd and the movement of RCB buses delayed their exit from the area. People too tried to cash in on the situation.A medical staffer who did not wish to be identified, said, “We had a medical booth outside gate No 10 (on Link Road) with facilities like first aid and stretchers. When we were taking the stretchers in, some 20 people used that as a ploy, grabbed one of the stretchers and tried to barge into the stadium. They delayed us from reaching the injured.”