For want of a home, Goregaon fire survivors stuck in school

Another resident, Sanjay Chougule, who was the secretary of the building, claimed that the repair works of the building were going at a slow pace. The state of the structure was almost the same as it was three weeks ago, with the carcasses of the burnt vehicles still present in the parking lot and soot covering the walls in the building

Mumbai: Friday marked three weeks since the fire that engulfed the Jay Bhavani SRA building in Goregaon, killing eight and injuring 40. With repairs of the building still continuing, several families are still housed in the Unnat Nagar Municipal School. Others are camping at their relative’s homes, while some have left for their villages.

Mumbai, India - Oct 27, 2023 : Follow Up for a Fire in SRA Building at Goregaon, in Mumbai, India, Friday, Oct 27, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

Around 60 to 70 people are still currently living in the school, often travelling for their education or employment in the day and only returning at night to sleep. And while their complaints are minor, to do with the quality of the food the BMC sends and the uncleanliness of the bathrooms, their biggest gripe is that they would like their own homes back.

“I’m sending my two sons to school every day as they have exams. But they’re not able to study properly here. We need a home, after all,” said Sanjay Kumar Srivastav, an advocate in the High Court.

Another resident, Sanjay Chougule, who was the secretary of the building, claimed that the repair works of the building were going at a slow pace. The state of the structure was almost the same as it was three weeks ago, with the carcasses of the burnt vehicles still present in the parking lot and soot covering the walls in the building. No electricity or water connections were there. In two flats on the fourth floor, stacks of folded clothing were being arranged and packed up in and outside two flats. The goods were what Bharat Talsaniya and his family had collected from their work of exchanging utensils for old clothes, customary of the Waghri community.

“We’re planning to sell off all our stock, because as the repairs and cleaning go on, it might get spoilt. After that, if we don’t get to live in our house again or find a house on rent, we will go back to our village in Rajkot, Gujarat,” he said.

A lot of the residents had their work held up, as their goods had burnt, leaving them with nothing, as was the case with Mukesh Talsaniya. He stayed living in the school with his family. “We’re just making do till we get our homes back. We don’t get houses for rent in the area easily, so we have no choice but to stay here,” he said. Another resident who had initially been living in the school, Ramesh Suthar, had shifted to a room taken on rent for six months, at ₹7,500 per month. “My kids could not adjust, as we’d have to send them to school without a bath and they had exams. I had no choice.” Another, Vikas Kumar, had already shifted to another place at ₹21,000 per month rent, not wishing to return to the SRA building out of fear.

According to the CEO of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Satish Lokhande, repair work on the building is still ongoing. “It will take around 10 to 12 days more. The audit of the building has been done and will be released soon. The water connection to the auxiliary tank is also done, and the residents will receive clean drinking water once they’re allowed to return.”