Anxious Borivali residents on house-hunt

The R-central ward sent notices to eight buildings in Borivali, asking residents to vacate their homes in seven days, after the structures were declared dangerous

Mumbai “We will roam like gypsies now with our belongings, as we do not have anywhere to go,” said Daksha Shah, a resident of Trilok Kripa CHS Ltd, in Borivali (east). Shah’s sentiment mirrored the collective bafflement and helplessness of residents of eight buildings in this northern suburb, who received eviction notices from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday.

Residents of Trilok Kripa, one of the eight dilapidated buildings, vacating their houses at Borivali (East) on Wednesday. (Vijay Bate/HT PHOTO)

The R-central ward sent notices to eight buildings in Borivali, asking residents to vacate their homes in seven days, after the structures were declared dangerous. This was in the aftermath of the collapse of Geetanjali CHS last week.

Residents are now either frantically scouting for new homes at affordable rents or making alternative arrangements for many ailing senior citizens and children who live with them.

Chaos reigned supreme at Trilok Kripa CHS Ltd, a six-storey building, on Wednesday afternoon, as residents brought in movers and packers to shift their belongings. Twenty-seven families have been living in 1-BHK flats since 1975. Each flat approximately measures 520sqft. A few occupants continue to reside here without electricity and water supply even after the eviction notice was served by the BMC last Saturday.

Shah, a third-floor resident, has been here for 27 years. She said the families were in talks with the builder for redevelopment. “Now, thanks to BMC’s notice, we will not even get rent from the developer,” she said.

The bathrooms and toilets are without water, compelling residents to go out for their ablutions. They take the stairs, in the absence of working lifts, and spend the nights without fans. “My senior citizen in-laws were hassled and had to be brought down physically by stairs,” said Shah. They now live in her sister’s house in the same neighburhood.

Popatlal Shah, 78, a heart patient, resides by himself here, after shifting his wife to a relative’s place, so that he can monitor the shifting of the luggage.

What are his plans? “Now, I plan to go up directly,” he said, in half-jest, pointing to the sky. “There is no other way. The BMC and the builder have chased us away. My wife suffers from a bad knee.”

Angi Shah, a CA student, who is preparing for her exams, goes to the library nearby to study. “The trauma is unimaginable. It is unfair to be thrust with an eviction notice during monsoons. There was just enough water in our motorised tanks which lasted a few days. We are now forced to leave,” she said. The Shahs are moving into a house in the next lane, shelling out a monthly rent of ₹45,000.

Dharmesh Ganatra, a second-floor resident and chairman of the housing society, is all set to move out. He informed that a committee was formed in 2019 and a proposal readied for a self-redevelopment project; subsequently a developer was found in 2020. “We worked hard for two years. We told the court four days ago about our redevelopment proposal but BMC is threatening to bulldoze our building. Being the chairman, I cannot leave other residents to fend for themselves,” said Ganatra.

Sheetal Chhaya building on Carter Road No.3, which falls under C1 category for demolition, is in a precarious condition, with its columns tied with ropes for support. It still has occupants, from low-income groups, on the ground and first floors.

Shravan K Tewari, an autorickshaw driver, has been living in his dark ground floor flat with his wife and two children for five days. The family burns an incense stick to keep mosquitoes away.

“I have lived here 50 years. We are still looking for a home but haven’t found anything affordable. We now plan to move into a kholi in a slum. We are surviving on a single meal each day,” said Tiwari.

The two wings of 52-year-old Ram Nagar Trust building in Borivali (west), have 83 flats. The property was constructed under tenancy rights. The residents of this building felt that the building could have been repaired, even though BMC has put it in the C-1 (dilapidated) category.

Rajendra Parikh (65), who has been living here for the past 52 years, said, “We are outsourcing water from tankers for our daily needs, but we don’t know how long we can continue this way. The entire building is pitch dark in the night, which poses risks for women and senior citizens.” He added that several tenants have relocated to their friends’ or relatives’ places.

“But some of us have nowhere to go,” he rued.

Manoj Dube, chairperson of this society, said the residents have filed a petition in Dindoshi Court. “The first notice was served to us in June this year asking us to submit a structural audit report. Following which, two more notices came in the next month, which declared our building as C-1 or dilapidated. We then requested the civic body to give us 30 days to submit a report on August 3. This report stated that the building is not dilapidated but in repairable state,” Dube told HT. BMC, he said, was reluctant to accept their report.

The 65-year-old Laxmi Niwas building in Borivali (east) is already being pulled down by BMC. The four-storey structure is empty as the six families who resided here have moved out.

“After BMC sent us the first notice in June, residents started vacating the premises. Many tenants have relocated elsewhere,” said a former resident.

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Name tag

The civic body has three categories for buildings that have fallen into disrepair -- C1, C2 and C3. Structures that can be repaired and stand for a few years are marked as C3, those in need of extensive structural help are in C2 category, while those beyond repair and need to be razed immediately get the C1 tag.

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