25 die as building collapses in Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazar
Over 35 people injured, many feared trapped
Fire brigade and NDRF personnel carry out search and rescue operations following the collapse of a building in south Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazar on Thursday. At least 25 people were killed and 35 others injured when the five-storey residential building, which is over a 100 years old, collapsed. About 10 others are still feared trapped under the mounds of debris.
Report: Page 8
The spate of building collapses continues in Mumbai this monsoon, as a 117-year old six-storey building in Bhendi Bazaar collapsed on Thursday morning, killing 25 people and leaving over 35 injured. About 10 persons are still feared to be trapped under the debris as rescue operations continued till late night. The Husaini Mahal building, which is located on Pakmodia Street in south Mumbai, came down like a pack of cards at 8.30 in the morning, trapping residents under the rubble. Besides the families who resided there, the building also housed a sweet shop, a food kitchen and a play school on the ground floor.
According to civic officials, the building, which was constructed before 1940, was a grade A cessed building. It had been declared dangerous by Mhada and notices were issued to residents to vacate the building way back in 2011.
The building was included in the cluster redevelopment project to be undertaken by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), and accordingly, tenants were offered eligibility certificates. The demolition permission was also issued in May 2016. However, out of the 12 families, only seven decided to shift to the transit camp, while the remaining decided to stay put. It may be mentioned that SUBT is one of the biggest redevelopment projects, under which the old buildings in Bhendi Bazaar will be redeveloped with the help of cluster redevelopment. 180 buildings in surrounding areas will be redeveloped under the project. The Bhendi Bazaar cluster development is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project and CM Devendra Fadnavis is personally monitoring it.
The disaster management teams, including the BMC, the police and Mhada started the rescue work.