Another mishap at 90-year-old Mahim chawl awaiting redevelopment for 9 years

Located opposite Mahim railway station, the chawl comprises four wings, with residential units on the upper floors and shops on the ground level.

MUMBAI: On Saturday, a part of the first-floor passage of a 90-year-old chawl in Mahim West caved in, leading to renewed fears among residents, who said they were “living on borrowed time”. Repeated structural failures of this kind continue to plague the Daginawala Chawl even as a long-pending redevelopment project remains stalled.

Another mishap at 90-year-old Mahim chawl awaiting redevelopment for 9 years

Located opposite Mahim railway station, the chawl comprises four wings, with residential units on the upper floors and shops on the ground level. Of the 96 original tenants, only around 60 remain, with several families having moved out, citing safety concerns.

Residents said the structure had been declared dilapidated for years, with a no-objection certificate for redevelopment issued in 2017. The project was to be undertaken by Reshma Construction, but occupants alleged there had been no response from the developer despite repeated follow-ups.

Over the past seven years, portions of the chawl have caved in and parts of ceilings have come crashing down at least a dozen times, according to residents. In one instance around two years ago, an apartment above an empty shop caved in, while several sections of the first floor have given way over time.

Jayant Gawde, 70, told HT that three months ago, he woke up one morning to find that a portion of his ceiling had crashed. “I immediately alerted the disaster management team and the fire brigade. The developer later installed support rods after the collapse,” he said.

Urich Kamath, 40, a resident of D wing, said the building would visibly shake, with exposed metal rods and weakened slabs indicating severe structural distress. He pointed to a toilet block on the first floor precariously supported by a tree. “If the tree is removed, the structure could come crashing down,” he said.

Nikhil Gosrani, 38, said the prolonged delay in redevelopment had forced residents to continue living in unsafe conditions. “Staying, walking and carrying out daily activities has become risky,” he said, adding that many families had already vacated. “The building is one step away from disaster,” summed up Gayatri Rao, 64, urging the authorities and the redeveloper to intervene before a tragedy occurred.

When contacted, a representative of the developer said that the project had been delayed due to pending environment ministry permissions for the approximately 20,000-sq-m plot. “The requisite clearances have now been secured and redevelopment work is now expected to begin within the next two months,” he said, declining to comment further.