Ulhasnagar slab collapse: Survivors left without shelter, bldg to be razed

A day after the slab of Mohini Palace in Ulhasnagar collapsed killing five and injuring 10 residents, the civic body has decided to demolish the building from Monday

A day after the slab of Mohini Palace in Ulhasnagar collapsed killing five and injuring 10 residents, the civic body has decided to demolish the building from Monday.

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On Sunday, the survivors gathered at the building premises, as they lost their shelter and have no place to go. They were joined by the families of the victims. Among them was the family of Milind Parche who, along with his 60-year-old grandmother died in the incident.

“Milind and his grandmother were sleeping when the incident took place. He loved to cook and was very attached to his family, especially to me. The family is shattered due to his demise,” said the 12-year-old’s aunt Reshma Parche, 28.

The roof of the fourth floor flat of the ground-plus-five-storey building – which was 27 years old – had collapsed on Saturday around 1.30pm.

Milind’s parents, elder brother and three other family members were rescued from the balcony of their first floor flat by the Ulhasnagar fire brigade team.

Rohit Lokhande, 15, who was on the fourth floor of the building with his 5-year-old sibling and two cousins, managed to somehow open the door of his house that was stuck after the incident, and find way to the staircase.

“It was only us children in the flat at the time of the incident. We were sleeping when the slab collapsed and could not understand what had happened. I rushed to the door and tried opening it but it was stuck. I pushed it hard and managed to open the door and rushed out with my cousins and sibling,” said Rohit.

“The building was not dangerous and residents were not given notice to vacate the building. We are also shocked due to the incident,” said Reshma Parche.

UMC assistant commissioner Ganesh Shimpi said, “Only one family approached us and we have accommodated them at a local gurdwara.”

The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) confirmed that the building is not in the dangerous buildings’ list.

Meanwhile, residents say the incident has left them homeless.

“We have no place to go now. We are living on the streets at present with no belongings,” said Lata Metkar, 45, a resident of Mohini Palace, who lived in the building with her children.

On Sunday morning, the police deployed at the collapse site claimed that the remaining portion of the building tilted a bit, which led to panic among the nearby residents.

“We are trying to keep people away from the spot so that there is no other tragedy,” said an officer, who did not wish to be named.

“We will start demolishing the structure from Monday and the procedure for it has been initiated,” said Ganesh Shimpi, assistant commissioner, UMC.

Sashikant Dayma, a social activist from Ulhasnagar, said, “A total of 30 people have died in 36 incidents of building or slab collapses within UMC limits in past 11 years. Every year, there is one such incident in the city and the civic body has failed to bring about a permanent solution.”

As per UMC records, there are 23 ‘extremely dangerous buildings’ which need to be demolished and 116 ‘dangerous buildings’, which need to be vacated and repaired, while eight buildings can be repaired without vacating residents.