20 families evacuated after floor caves in

The incident occurred at 3.30am in a fourth floor flat situated in C wing of Navjivan cooperative housing society at Evershine Nagar. Soon thereafter, BMC officials inspected the wing and asked the residents to vacate on an emergency basis

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) moved nearly 20 families out of a building in Malad West in the early hours of Tuesday after floor of a flat caved in, leaving two persons injured.

Mumbai, India - July 04, 2023 : Slab collapse inside Navjeevan Society, C Wing, at Malad, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, July 04, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The incident occurred at 3.30am in a fourth floor flat situated in C wing of Navjivan cooperative housing society at Evershine Nagar. Soon thereafter, BMC officials inspected the wing and asked the residents to vacate on an emergency basis.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner, P North ward, said the residents are worried and searching for a place to stay as their building is not on the C1 category list of dangerous buildings.

As many as 59 families will be vacated from the other three wings in the next seven days, officials said.

An official from P North ward said the building was issued a notice to conduct a structural audit but it was not carried out. “We examined the building, and it is in a dangerous condition. It will be audited by us now. C wing has been cleared out and we have asked residents in the other wings to vacate in seven days. The building is in the process of going for redevelopment. The builder has assured us that he will demolish the building. If he fails to do so we will pull it down,” the civic official said.

“One of the injured residents was a child and the other in his twenties and they were sleeping in the bedroom. Both of them are reportedly doing fine and will be discharged soon,” he said.

Neither the BMC nor the residents were able to furnish details of the injured victims nor the hospital they were admitted to.

Desai said he has been a resident for the last 20 years and now he does not know where to go with his family. “My first task is to find a place to store my belongings,” he said.

Desai added that a precaution notice was issued by the BMC to the society to conduct an audit of the building on an urgent basis in the past. “But we are in the process of redeveloping the building. The south facing flats were hit by monsoon and there was seepage of water which rusted the rods. The BMC is in a hurry to demolish it,” he added.

Yogesh Kudva, a tenant on the ground floor had rented the flat after his own house in Modern Usha Colony on the opposite road was demolished in July 2021 as it fell under C1 category.

“I was paying ₹18,000 monthly rent and now I will pay ₹28,000 rent for a new 1BHK flat,” he said.

Some of the tenants said that the majority of the owners, who had rented their flats in C wing, had not informed them of the dilapidated condition of the building, nor told them that the BMC had demanded a structural audit.

Ratan Chouhan, another resident, said many owners had given their flats on rent and are living elsewhere. The C wing has 20 flats and the building is more than 40-year-old, he said.

“They have not given us even one day to vacate. What is the urgency shown by the BMC? Our entire life’s belongings are here. How can we pack and move out in less than 24 hours?” he asked.