BADIN: A tall monument bearing 99 names of Allah collapsed near Badar Chowk, adjacent to Bago Wah Bridge, in Tando Bago town on Sunday, causing considerable damage to several roadside shops. Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident, which caused panic among locals.

Eyewitnesses said the tall structure installed years ago suddenly toppled onto the shops amid gusty winds at around noon. Rooftops of shops and makeshift vending stalls were damaged.

“The wind wasn’t even that strong, but the tower came crashing down with a loud thud,” said Ghulam Rasool, a local shopkeeper. “People screamed and ran to safety in every direction,” he said.

“The structure had become weak due to age and weather damage,” said a municipal official. “We had received concerns from citizens earlier, but could not carry out maintenance,” he admitted, and held out assurance that the municipality would now assess condition of all such structures in the area to preempt a similar incident in future.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2025