Building collapse: The men who lost their brothers

The carpenter from Chapra, Bihar, who had asked his brothers and cousin to come to Mumbai for work, had a miraculous escape- just a bruise on the ring finger

Mumbai After 15 hours of anxious wait, 35-year-old Sanjay Majhi’s worst fears came true on June 28 as an ambulance, with the mortal remains of his three brothers- Pappu, 28, Rahul, 22, and Birju, 19 and his cousin Ajay Pospor, 28- drove to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar.

Majhi lived with 10 carpenters on the second floor of the building. Each of them earned ₹20,000 a month (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The carpenter from Chapra, Bihar, who had asked his brothers and cousin to come to Mumbai for work, had a miraculous escape- just a bruise on the ring finger of his right hand-in the Kurla building collapse that claimed 19 lives.

“We were sleeping after having food, when suddenly, at around 11 or 11.15 pm, the building came crashing down. It happened within a fraction of a second,” said Majhi, who has been living in Mumbai for 20 years.

Talking about his family, Majhi said that Ajay had come to the city four months ago for work. His was among the first two bodies that were dug out by the fire brigade. “He had been coming to Mumbai on-and-off for carpentry work. This time, we had a good project and I called him to the city with my youngest brother Birju,” said Majhi, battling guilt and anxiety.

Majhi lived with 10 carpenters on the second floor of the building. Each of them earned ₹20,000 a month. Everytime an ambulance reached the hospital, Majhi would run out to check whether the person being brought was dead or alive.

He considers himself lucky to have survived. As tears rolled down his cheeks, he said, “I was trapped for only half an hour and rescued by the fire brigade. I could hear my brothers’ and others’ voices for help. I don’t know how I survived.”

“I was the first to come to the city for carpentry work. Pappu followed me 15 years ago and Rahul arrived four years ago. I don’t know what to tell my family back home,” he continued, while taking quick steps towards the emergency department as an ambulance drove in. He broke down again as he saw another set of brothers—Govind Bharti, 32, and Arvind Bharti, 19—brought to the hospital. While Govind survived the crash, Arvind didn’t make it.

“We finished our dinner late. We first felt a small tremor, which most of us didn’t take seriously. Within 15 minutes, the entire building crumbled. Ten of us lived in the fourth-floor room. We all managed to come out within minutes but Arvind was in another room. It was me who brought him to Mumbai for work and he was the youngest,” said Bharti, who couldn’t control his emotions. While Bharti came to Mumbai a year back, Arvind came to the city three months ago.

On Tuesday morning, 20-year-old Lauher Prajapathi took a flight to Mumbai from Bihar and rushed to the hospital only to see the dead bodies of his twin brother Kusher Prajapati and younger brother Shyaam Prajapati (18). He was told by his friend, also a survivor, that Kusher had a chance to come out of the rubble but he refused to do so without Shyaam. “I tried pulling out Kusher from the rubbles but he refused to leave Shyaam, who was stuck in the rubbles behind him. I wish he had listened to me,” said Doothnath Yadav, who informed Lauher.

Santosh Yadav, their supervisor, who was present at the hospital, said the carpenters were working at a site near Ganesh hall, Nehrunagar, Kurla and they had arranged for the rental accommodation.

“We had moved some of them here a year back. Most of them came to stay here three months back. We were supposed to vacate the rooms on June 29 and shift them to an alternative accommodation nearby because it was dilapidated,” he said as he tried consoling the brothers.