BMC demolishes houses after landslide in Ghatkopar

BMC demolishes seven slum houses in Mumbai after minor landslide; 32 individuals relocated to nearby civic school for temporary accommodation.

Mumbai: After a minor landslide struck the Himalaya Society situated on a hill in Ghatkopar West, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished seven slum houses situated above the site of the landslide on Saturday. Thirty-two individuals lived in the seven houses that were affected. Following the incident, they have been relocated to a nearby civic school for temporary accommodation.

Mumbai, India. April 13,2024: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished the dangerous huts near the Aslpha hill rockface where the landslide occurred at 9.14 pm on April 12 at Govind Nagar, Ghatkopar in Mumbai. April 13,2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

A section of these houses contributed to the landslide on Friday night, resulting in minor injuries to two individuals and causing roof damage to several neighbouring homes. Ashfaq Barkati, 60, and now homeless, said, “The earth beneath our houses is loose, and some part of it had been hanging for a while.” He emphasised, “But there was no fault in our homes. They were strong pakka houses made of cement long back, as we’ve been living here for 35 years.”

“The BMC came in the morning and asked us to take our stuff out immediately, and demolished our homes. No notice whatsoever was given,” said another resident, Bilal Haider, Barkati’s nephew.

Barkati was away, and when he arrived home on Saturday morning, he was greeted by the sight of his home being demolished. “We managed to remove and keep some of our belongings in the madrassa nearby, and the rest we will have to dig out. Our objections were not addressed by the BMC, even though we have all our documents,” he said, worried. “We’ve lost everything in a day.”

Haider echoed this, saying, “We have our electricity bills, ration card, and other documents proving our residence in these houses for decades.”

Despite the threats of living on the hill all these years, the residents said they continued to stay out in the monsoon, hoping no disaster would strike.

Barkati said the civic body was accommodating them in a neighbouring BMC school, where his daughters study, for two days, but was unsure of what he would do following it.

The assistant commissioner of the L ward, Dhanaji Hirlekar, said, “The cause of the landslide was the collapse of a wall from illegal unauthorised shanties over the houses. We’ve demolished them because they are dangerous, and can pose a threat to the other houses there. We’re accommodating the families in a municipal school temporarily.”

When asked about the lack of notices, he said the houses were illegal, and they needn’t be given notices. If the residents have stayed there for over 30 years as they say, he said, they would be compensated as per the policy.