Thane: Labourer dies in slab collapse in Ulhasnagar

ULHASNAGAR: A labourer died on the spot and another was injured after the slab of a fifth-floor flat collapsed in Komal Park building in Ulhasnagar on Thursday afternoon. The building, situated near Gol Maidan area, is on the list of buildings declared dangerous by the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC). The collapse took place when work was going on inside the flat.
The civic body had issued three notices to the building in the past -- on August 2, 2021, May 4, 2022 and June 14 - stating repairs must be carried out. The Komal Park building has 21 flats and two shops.
Ganesh Shimpi, assistant municipal commissioner of UMC, said, "The owner of flat No. 502 was carrying out internal repairs at his own level, during which the portion of a slab collapsed." The secretary of the building, Dhiraj Rajani, alleged flat-owner Jatin Chailani had rented the flat to a woman who was carrying out ceiling work by hiring labourers and without taking any help from any engineer.
Rajani alleged the labourers were using hammers to carry out ceiling work when the slab collapsed. Khalilur Shaikh (45) died on the spot, while Ganesh Sanas (28) suffered serious injuries.
Jamir Lengrekar, UMC additional municipal commissioner, said, "Since the building falls under category C2B, it needs to be repaired. But it is seen that flat owners have ignored this."
On learning of the incident, former local corporator Manoj Sadhnani and others reached the spot and alerted the UMC as well as the fire brigade team, which rescued other residents and sealed the building.
In the past, portions of several buildings have collapsed in Ulhasnagar, especially of buildings which were constructed with low-quality sand in 1994-1995. The Komal Park building was also constructed in 1994. The same year, UMC had taken action against many such buildings by demolishing some portions. But later, builders in collusion with UMC officials got most buildings illegally repaired.