Mumbai: Twenty-eight hours after the Pakmodia Street building collapse that claimed 33 lives, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the fire brigade called off search and rescue operations at the site around 12.30 p.m. on Friday. “Rescue operations were called off after all victims were accounted for. Two fire appliances and one ambulance were kept on standby as a precautionary measure during clearing operations,” Chief Fire Officer P.S. Rahangdale said.
Friday was dominated by fear and mourning, as local residents gathered around the site of the collapse. All residents prayed for the souls of the deceased and speedy recovery of the injured during the morning namaaz on Friday. Shortly after they left, residents of Rasul building nearby came out onto the street, and refused to return to their homes fearing a similar fate. Tasneem Khan, a resident of Rasul building, said, “I’m not sure how long my building, which is 120 years old, will remain standing. There are buildings much older and weaker than Husseini building; the government has to do something before we meet the same fate.” The residents were placated by local MLA Amin Patel, who assured them that the needful would be done soon.
Towards the end of search operations, the bodies of eight members of the Lightwala family were pulled out from under the rubble. The family lived on the fifth floor of the ill-fated Husseini building. The youngest victim was 21-day-old Burhanuddin Lightwala; he and his mother Alefiya, 25, had been brought back from a local maternity home on Tuesday, two days before the collapse.
Mujahid Khan, 50, a friend of the Lightwalas, said, “Many of us had asked them to move out, but they were reluctant as Murtuza (a Lightwala family member) had his office nearby, and his elder son was studying in a local school.” Mr. Khan, who used to stay in the same area, moved to Dadar a couple of years ago. Till then, he and Murtuza prayed in the same mosque. The sole surviving member, Qureish Lightwala, is currently admitted to Saifee Hospital.
Husseini building’s landlady, Jumana Bootwala, had left her sixth floor apartment four years ago when the water leakage problem worsened. “We shifted to Ghodapdev transit accommodation and had asked all the others to shift as well, including the Lightwalas. We kept telling them that the building had many leakages and was in bad condition. There was no lift and elderly people had a tough time going up and down. But they did not listen to us.”
The Chashmawala family, too, had refused to move out despite repeated appeals. Locals said they were unwilling to shift to Reay Road, where they were being provided alternate accommodation, as it has comparatively lesser connectivity in terms of public transport. Also, their children were studying in the same school as the Lightwala kids.