the boundary wall of the school collapsed on the slum houses around it. At least four persons were rescued.Three persons, including a three-year-old boy, died after a wall collapsed on shanties in Kalyan on Monday midnight. The slum houses had come up between the National Urdu school near Durgadi junction and a cattle stable, police said.
An officer from the Bazarpeth police in Kalyan said: “Around 1.30 am, the boundary wall of the school collapsed on the slum houses around it. At least four persons were rescued… From the debris, the fire brigade rescued four others, three of whom were declared brought dead,” senior Inspector Yashwant Chavhan said.
The deceased have been identified as Shobha Kamble (65), Karina Sayyed (38) and her son Hussain Mohammad (3).
“The roof of Kamble’s one-room house that she shared with her son and his family, collapsed on her. While their neighbours, Karina Sayyad and her son couldn’t escape, their other family members managed to get out,” an officer said.
The houses were built abutting the walls of the stable and the school and were surrounded with a corrugated tin sheet as a fence, police said. “These are illegal houses and thus, they were so close to the old wall of the school building,” said the officer, adding the families of the deceased have taken shelter at the KDMC night shelters.
Kalyan has received 175 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. While the KDMC spent crores on cleaning nullahs, residents claimed the nullahs were overflowing since the first day of the rain. “The debris were not cleared from around the nullahs. After the first day of rainfall, the debris washed into the nullahs, blocking them again. Now, overflowing nullahs and drains have led to waterlogging,” Shriram Maniyar, a Kalyan resident, said. In Thane, some residents were rescued from Chikhalwadi area by the fire brigade after water entered their homes. “We rescued the 25 to 30 people from the Bhaskar colony using rope and portable ladders. They have taken shelter at a nearby school,” a Thane fire brigade official said. Thane received 280 mm of rainfall on Monday, causing waterlogging.
