Sunday’s slab collapse in Bhiwandi raises concerns over dangerous structures in city

The slab collapse incident in Shanti Nagar locality in Bhiwandi on Sunday that killed a 45-year-old woman and injured two men has again raised the concerns over the dangerous structures in the city and people living in it; over the last four years, 58 persons have died in various building collapse incidents

The slab collapse incident in Bhiwandi’s Shanti Nagar locality on Sunday that killed a 45-year-old woman and injured two men has again raised the concerns over the dangerous structures in the city and people living in it.

In Sunday’s slab collapse in Bhiwandi, one woman was killed and two others injured. The incident has again raised concerns over the dangerous structures in the city. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

Over the last four years, 58 persons have died in various building collapse incidents.

In the latest slab collapse incident, no case was registered as the building was very old and the owner could not be traced. The Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) said that the woman, Gulshan Ansari, died while five people were stuck under the slab but the local residents helped rescue two of them. The injured have been admitted to hospital.

“There is no case registered in the slab collapse incident as the building was vacant and its slab fell on a nearby building. Our ward officers have been instructed to find out all the dangerous buildings in the city and take necessary steps to vacate the residents and raze such buildings with immediate effect. A meeting will be held with the officials soon,” said Deepak Pujari, deputy commissioner, BNCMC.

Manohar Konka, a social activist from the city, said, “There is no specific action taken by the civic body even after so many people lost their lives. The civic body has not been able to raze many such structures. What they do is only conduct surveys and prepare a list of such buildings. Further, there are no initiatives taken.”

In one of the worst incidents involving a building collapse, the Jilani Building collapse in September 2020 at Bhiwandi’s Patel Compound, 38 people were killed and 25 others were injured.