SRA bldg construction leads to massive landslide in Chunabhatti

The BMC’s disaster control team and the Mumbai fire brigade reached the site immediately after the landslide occurred at 8.30 am. They cordoned off the area and evacuated people from the nearby Vasantdada Patil Engineering College

Mumbai: The piling work done for a 30-storey Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building at Rahul Nagar in Chunabhatti East was allegedly the cause of a massive landslide on Wednesday. Its impact was so great that the road caved in by 30 to 40 feet, submerging 40 two-wheelers and one four-wheeler. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Mumbai, India - July 05, 2023 : Landslide in Rahul Nagar, Nr Vasantdada patil Engg College, Eastern express highway, Chunabhatti (E), As informed by MFB while piling work of Raunak group construction about 25ft of land slide thereby around 8-10 two wheelers and 4-5 four wheelers are trapped under debris. Area is evacuated, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, July 05, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The BMC’s disaster control team and the Mumbai fire brigade reached the site immediately after the landslide occurred at 8.30 am. They cordoned off the area and evacuated people from the nearby Vasantdada Patil Engineering College. The challenge for the fire brigade was to remove the trapped vehicles in a progressing landslide.

The SRA project, a planned and approved 30-storey free-sale component with a three-level basement, was being carried out by the Raunak Group. “The piling work was being done in the vicinity of a nallah just eight metres away,” said Dhanaji Herlekar, assistant commissioner, L ward. “The access road to Vasant Dada Patil Engineering College caved in. The piling work collapsed and a landslide occurred.”

Herlekar said that soil behaviour changes during the monsoon and the actual load of the piling work were probably not taken into consideration. “The structural engineer’s report is awaited,” he said. “Prima facie, it seems like their design has failed. There is also a possibility that there was water seepage from the nallah during high tide.”

Nitin Kamble, designated officer, L ward, told HT that the SRA and developer had both been instructed to conduct a structural audit. “We are intimating the developer and SRA that every correspondence done should be communicated to the BMC’s L ward assistant commissioner,” he said.

The SRA’s stop work notice to Raunak Jigna Associates, of which Hindustan Times has a copy, states, “You were already instructed to take remedial action and take adequate precautionary measures to ensure general upkeep, maintenance and structural safety on site in view of the monsoon season, so as to avoid collapse and structural damages on site… During the site visit, it was observed that around 30 to 40 feet of the road portion collapsed due to the landslide. You are therefore instructed to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the ongoing project and other services like gas and electricity fittings provided at the ongoing construction works so as to prevent any leakage/short circuits… fire hazards and loss of human life…”

Rajan Bandelkar, one of the Raunak Group partners, termed the mishap as “unfortunate” and claimed to have taken all safety and precautionary measures. “Proper piling work was done,” he said. “This happened because of heavy rains. Fortunately, there were no casualties. We are rectifying it now. We will remove all the sunk and damaged vehicles and will compensate for the damage done to them.”

The rehab building constructed behind the saleable building houses 150 families from the Rahul Nagar 2 chawl. Ajay Goud, a resident, told HT that they had noticed the cracks a week earlier and also informed the workers. “There was a gap in the piling work,” he said. “At 8.30 am, when I was getting ready to go to work, the landslide occurred. We were shaken by the impact.”

Goud said that over 30 to 40 bikes had been damaged, including his. “They have noted down our bike numbers,” he said. “But we are more concerned about our safety in this SRA building though the workers told us it was safe.”

Srinivas Avulu, another resident, also lost his bike in the landslide. The SRA building where he stays has been planned as a 23-storey building but only six floors have been constructed so far. “We are living in this under-construction building since 2022,” he said. “The basement is filled with garbage. Our primary concern is our safety and also the fact that we will have nowhere to go if we are asked to vacate.”

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Last week, a builder was booked in another landslide where a road near Magathane Metro Rail station caved in. The BMC issued a stop-work notice to the builder, who was accused of conducting deep excavations near Entry Exit 2 for a private project in Borivali East.