Mumbai: Three labourers died and eight were injured when a building under repair collapsed at Motilal Nagar in Goregaon on Sunday morning. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), which owns the land, said permission was not granted for the work, and it will take action against the owner and the contractor. The MHADA will also take up a survey in the area.
The ground plus one building was being refurbished for the last one month, wherein three houses were being assimilated into one while another floor was being added, reportedly to be converted into a commercial structure. The houses had changed hands earlier this year but neighbours did not know the owner. MHADA officials said the houses were owned by Haroon Noor Mohammed Dhukka while the contractor was Shahnawaz Sayyed (40).
Work would begin at 8 a.m. every day. Around 9 a.m. on Sunday, when the slab of the second floor was being placed, the structure came crashing down.
Rajesh Shevde, who lives opposite the structure, said, the labourers had hastily erected the beam and channels on Saturday and were in the process of putting the slab of the second floor on Sunday. “It seemed they were in a hurry to finish the work,” he said.
Maya Kadam, another neighbour, said, “I sleep on the bed right next to the window. I woke up to a crash and when I looked out, there was dust everywhere. My brother, who was cleaning his autorickshaw outside, rushed to help. People rescued some labourers but it was too risky.”
Three fire engines were sent to the spot along with a team of NDRF personnel. A total of 11 labourers were taken to Siddharth Hospital. Of them, Ramankumar Gore Mandal (30) and Subhash Chauhan (35) from Bihar, and Rajendra Nisad (40) from Uttar Pradesh were declared dead. Sinu Vaddi (34), Munna Sheikh, and Manoj Rajavanshi were severely injured. The other five were discharged after treatment.
V.M. Dundgekar, station officer, Chincholi fire station, said onlookers had pulled out five labourers from under the debris before firefighters arrived. “We rescued one, and two others with the help of the NDRF. We had to use channel cutters and cameras to look for those trapped. Other labourers told us the exact spot due to which we could pull them out quickly.”
Nanda Pujari’s house next door had developed cracks when the work started last month. The contractor had promised to take care of those before the work ended. Now, Ms. Pujari’s family and the Maurya family on the other side of the collapsed building were asked to vacate their houses temporarily on Sunday.
“There doesn’t seem to be any structural damage. We have asked them to move out only as a precautionary measure. They can come back soon,” an official from the BMC’s P South ward office said. Assistant municipal commissioner Chanda Jadhav could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who visited the site on Sunday, demanded action against civic officials and the contractor. “This contractor has a tie-up with the BMC. There was an accident on his previous site as well. He should be tried for criminal negligence. The BMC is responsible for this incident.” “Local Congress worker Sameer Mungekar had complained to the BMC about this illegal construction around 15 days ago, but a sub-engineer told him the MHADA is the authority,” Mr. Nirupam said.
A MHADA official present at the site said the repair work was illegal. “We are filing a police complaint against the owner and the contractor under the MRTP Act. We will also be appointing an agency for a survey and detection of unauthorised structures in the area.”
“We called five people, including the contractor and the supervisor of the construction company, identified as Shekhar Wadar (30), for questioning. Later, we arrested the contractor and the supervisor under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC. Our inquiry is under way,” a police inspector at Goregaon police station said.