Maharashtra: Building portion collapses in Ulhasnagar

ULHASNAGAR: A huge portion of a ground plus five-storied building collapsed on Monday afternoon at Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra's Thane district. Luckily, few days ago, the building was forcefully evacuated by Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) after no one was ready to vacate despite it being declared as very dangerous.
This is the eighth building to have collapsed either fully or partially in Ulhasnagar this monsoon making over 1,000 people homeless. The residents of the city are demanding higher Floor Space Index (FSI) for city so that these buildings can be redeveloped.
Looking at demands and protests by citizens, the state government last week passed notification for higher FSI.
The Sheravali building, which is 25 years old, has 20 flats and eight shops.
Ganesh Shimpi, an assistant municipal commissioner of UMC, said, "The building was in 'very dangerous' list and as people were not vacating it, our team had disconnected electricity and water supply forcing them to vacate the building".
Rajesh Vadhrya, the standing committee chairman of UMC, said, "Those who are affected in such types of buildings collapse related incident do not need to worry as these buildings now can be redeveloped after one or two months."