Mumbai building collapse: BMC to survey structures in area

A day after a building collapse killed 12 people, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started a survey of Malwani in Malad to identify dangerous and illegal structures

A day after a building collapse killed 12 people, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started a survey of Malwani in Malad to identify dangerous and illegal structures.

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The civic body also began demolition of the adjacent ground-plus-three structure that started to tilt towards the ground.

Malwani, located in the western suburb of Malad comes under P-North ward, one of the city’s most densely populated administrative wards of the BMC. It has one of the largest slum clusters in Mumbai with illegally constructed structures on land owned by state revenue department or the BMC.

Sambhaji Adkune, deputy collector (encroachment and removal), said, “We are giving assistance to the BMC. The BMC will identify all structures that are dangerous or illegal.”

After the collapse, the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) vacated structures in the vicinity.

Mohammad Asif, a resident who vacated his house, said, “We were allowed to take our documents and important belongings. We would not like to see a repeat of what happened on Wednesday night.”

Another resident Rasheed Shah said, “We do not have any alternate arrangement of buying or renting a house for now, but we will somehow manage at our relatives’ house for a few days. I have not been getting enough wages for almost 15 months now due to the lockdown as the car garage where I worked is facing losses. The compensation is only for the dead and injured. What about us? We are losing our house.”

Bharat Marathe, deputy civic commissioner, said, “A team of structural auditors will survey the area. Three- and more than two-storey structures will be priority. A report will be submitted to the municipal commissioner for further action.”