24-year-old Keerthana crushed under falling tree- A life full of dreams cut short

What began as a night of joy turned into tragedy when a 24-year-old engineering student and Bharatanatyam dancer, Keerthana, lost her life after a giant tree branch fell on her scooter in Bengaluru.

Life can change-or end-in a heartbeat. For 24-year-old Keerthana, it ended in a way no one could imagine. The young woman, full of dreams and life, became another victim of Bengaluru’s recurring tragedy, falling trees claiming innocent lives.

Keerthana, a resident of Hebbal, was an engineering student and a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Friends and family remember her as a cheerful girl who dreamt of achieving something big. She was passionate about dance, had plans to go abroad, and was just months away from completing her degree. But fate, and civic negligence, had other plans.

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What really happened?

On Sunday night, Keerthana had gone to watch the Sandalwood Premier League match, an event packed with celebrities and excitement. She had been looking forward to the match for days. After the game, she left for home on her scooter, smiling and content. But as she rode through Soladevanahalli, the skies opened up and rain began to pour.

Without warning, a massive, weak tree branch came crashing down onto the road. Within seconds, it fell directly on Keerthana’s scooter. Locals who witnessed the horrifying scene rushed to help, struggling to remove the heavy branches. Keerthana was pulled out and taken to the hospital, but before doctors could save her, she had already breathed her last.

The news hit her family like lightning. Her parents, who had been waiting for her to return home, were shattered. “She said she’d come back soon after the match. She never did,” her father cried outside the hospital. The heartbreaking sight of her grieving parents and brother left bystanders in tears.
The tragedy occurred barely a few meters away from the Soladevanahalli police station. Another biker, Bhaskar, was also injured when the same branch struck his vehicle, and he remains hospitalized.

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Locals blame civic negligence for the accident. Bengaluru has witnessed countless such incidents during rains, uprooted trees, weak trunks, and falling branches crushing vehicles and people. Despite repeated warnings, the authorities’ response has been reactive, not preventive. They act after lives are lost, not before.

Had authorities inspected and cleared dangerous trees in time, Keerthana might still be alive,  laughing, dancing, chasing her dreams. Instead, her ambitions lie buried beneath the weight of a fallen tree and an unaccountable system.

Keerthana’s story is not just a tragedy; it’s a wake-up call. A reminder that civic apathy can destroy lives in seconds. A city that prides itself on being India’s tech capital is failing its people on the simplest front, safety on its own streets.

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