Rescue operations on at Husaini building in south Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazar. Express photo by Nirmal Harindran
A day after 14 families were evacuated from a five-storey building in Mumbra that began tilting towards an adjacent building, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) said they will be demolishing the building. TMC officials also convinced tenants in the adjacent building to evacuate it considering it too was at risk.
TMC public relations officer Sandeep Malvi said, “We will be demolishing Noorani building as it poses a risk. Currently, we have moved the tenants of the building to either schools in Thane or they have gone to their relatives’ houses.” He added, “We had asked the owner to conduct a structural audit of the building nearly a year-and-a-half back. The audit had recommended several repairs but none of the repairs were carried out.”
Around 3pm on Friday, the Noorani building located near Mumbra railway station started tilting towards the adjacent building. Local residents called the Thane Police Control Room, who alerted the TMC and the Thane Fire Brigade. The residents were then evacuated and the building was barricaded to ensure no one went near it.
