A day after Mahak Apartment in Ulhasnagar collapsed, 75 families living in the vicinity vacated their homes on Wednesday, amid panic created by rumours of another building crash.
On Tuesday, A wing of Mahak Apartment collapsed on the entrance of B wing. There were no casualties as the structure was vacated on Monday, when the building tilted. Of the 21 families from B wing, 15 were stuck inside, but were safely rescued.
After the incident, the civic body asked 25 families of six-storey Mangalam Apartment; 25 from five-storey Dharam Palace and 25 from five-storey Ratan Palace in the vicinity to move out for their safety. These buildings were not part of the dangerous list comprising 250 buildings, prepared by the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) this year before the monsoon. However, after the collapse, these buildings were declared unsafe. “There was news of collapse of Ratan Palace building. The residents starting rushing out, only to realise it was a rumour,” said a resident of Ratan Palace.
At least 60 residents of Mahak Apartment were seen waiting downstairs to recover their belongings. The civic body did not begin clearing of debris on Wednesday. “We can’t clear the debris as it might affect nearby buildings. We need to do it carefully,” said an officer of UMC.
Residents are irked with the civic body’s approach. “The authorities did not even ask if we have an alternative place. They just asked us to leave,” said Sanjay Lulla, 32, who lived in the B wing. “When we ask civic officials about their action plan, they start cross-questioning us. They ask if our building is legal.” “The civic body has not even initiated any audit yet. We don’t know if we can come back. I managed to take some necessary clothes and other things, however, many other things are still inside,” said Mayur Khatri, 30, who lived in Mangalam Apartment, with his family of eight.
{{/usCountry}}Residents are irked with the civic body’s approach. “The authorities did not even ask if we have an alternative place. They just asked us to leave,” said Sanjay Lulla, 32, who lived in the B wing. “When we ask civic officials about their action plan, they start cross-questioning us. They ask if our building is legal.” “The civic body has not even initiated any audit yet. We don’t know if we can come back. I managed to take some necessary clothes and other things, however, many other things are still inside,” said Mayur Khatri, 30, who lived in Mangalam Apartment, with his family of eight.
{{/usCountry}}“The civic body is not supposed to do a structural audit of a residential building. Last year, we had asked all residential buildings that are more than 20 years old get the audit done. The residents ignored this. We have decided to conduct the audit, but it will take time,”said Ganesh Shimpi, assistant civic commissioner, UMC.
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