The fate of Nariman House — whether it will be demolished or go through structural repairs — will be taken after a survey by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, in all probability on Monday.
Sunil Dhamne, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, BMC, said: “We have been intimated by the police that after they finish work in the building, which is likely to be on Monday, we will be asked to take over the building for a structural survey. A decision on future course of action will be taken after we prepare a report on what we observe.”
Furthermore, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) plans to start surveys of other old buildings near Nariman House from Monday, as these were reportedly trembling at the time of blasts during rescue operations.
The buildings experienced more than 30 blasts on the last day of the rescue operation, resulting in cracks in some. Residents are also worried they may not hold.
“MHADA officials told us to leave the building, but where would we go? We are ready to vacate on condition that they (Mhada) redevelop the buildings within two years,” said Hari Awhad, resident of Rajwadkar Estate.
{{/usCountry}}“MHADA officials told us to leave the building, but where would we go? We are ready to vacate on condition that they (Mhada) redevelop the buildings within two years,” said Hari Awhad, resident of Rajwadkar Estate.
{{/usCountry}}Mehta Building — located right in front of Nariman House — has already been declared dilapidated by MHADA, a few years ago. “Even though it was declared a dilapidated building, we repaired it a few months ago. Now we don’t want to go in for redevelopment as we feel it is structurally safe,” said Praveen Jain, a resident.
Balbir Sehgal, deputy chief engineer, MHADA, said: “If any building is found badly damaged or dilapidated, we will shift residents to a transit camp.”