Two senior citizens dead in slab collapse in Vikhroli

The two deceased were identified as Sharad Mhaslekar, 75, and Suresh Madhalkar, 78. They were rescued and taken to the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in Vikhroli, where they were declared bought dead

Mumbai: Two senior citizens died in Vikhroli East after a slab of a three-story building collapsed on Thursday evening. The two deceased were identified as Sharad Mhaslekar, 75, and Suresh Madhalkar, 78. They were rescued and taken to the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in Vikhroli, where they were declared bought dead.

wo people died after a part of a slab of a three-storey Gurukrupa building collapsed in Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli on Thursday evening. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The ground plus three floored building, Gurukripa Housing Society, was in poor condition, and residents were concentrated in part of the building.

Seema Naik, a neighbour on the ground floor, said, “I was cooking when the neighbours came and alerted us about the slab collapse, and then we called the fire brigade.”

As per neighbours, the deceased were residents of the ground and second floor. They had been trying for redevelopment since 2004 but were frustrated as it had not gone ahead.

An official from MHADA said, “This building was constructed in the 1970s, so it is over 50 years old. We gave the residents notice last year that the building was in a dilapidated condition and should be vacated. But they did not pay heed to it.”

The official also said an NOC (No Objection Certificate) had been given for redevelopment, but due to disputes, it hadn’t gone forward. “We will be giving the remaining 12 families who have come forward temporary accommodation in the same area, Kannamvar Nagar,” said the official. “Our engineers visited the site and have handed over the keys to the remaining people for shifting them immediately to a transit house,” said another senior official from MHADA.