Bhiwandi building collapse: Tragedy struck hours before evacuation

Bhiwandi was still recovering from the death of eight persons in a building collapse on July 31, when it was dealt another blow yesterday. A two-storey dilapidated building, some 35 years old, collapsed in the early hours, killing eight persons from two families.

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Residents of the 35-year-old building ignored several eviction notices. It collapsed in the early hours yesterday. Pics/Sameer Markande

A team of 40 NDRF personnel as well as the fire brigade were engaged in the rescue operation that lasted 12 hours, after which the bodies were recovered.

Cracks, and then crash
Around 6.30 am, the building, called Mahadev, developed cracks. The building has two wings. While the one on the left, was unharmed, the other wing started crumbling from the top. A staircase separating the two was also completely demolished.

Building owner Sajjanlal Gupta and his wife died in the tragedy

There was a power loom on the left wing's ground floor, while tenants stayed on the upper floors. The other wing had a cook, Ramzan Ansari, staying on the ground floor, the Thakur family of six lived a tenants on the first floor and the Gupta family, which owned the building, on the second floor.

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Rescue personnel look for survivors in the rubble

Four fire engines and ambulances were sent to the spot around 7.15 am. The NDRF was called in around 9 am. All those staying in the left wing, around 20 of them, were evacuated with the help of a ladder. Sniffer dogs and four earthmovers were deployed to search for the missing.

Graphic: Ravi Jadhav

The first body to be recovered was that of owner Sajjanlal Gupta (60), at 9.15 am. His wife, Satyadevi (55), and the entire Thakur family, barring one, were wiped out in the disaster.

Rescue personnel recover the body of a victim from the rubble and Rescue operations on at the site of the building collapse in Bhiwandi. They lasted 12 hours

The Thakur family was to shift with other tenants to another place the same day, said Asharam Thakur, a relative who skipped living in the house on Saturday night owing to some work.

Dilapidated structure
The structure had been extremely dilapidated and had been served several notices in the past, the most recent one being on June 20. Following that, the structure's power and water connections were cut last week. When the occupants did not vacate the building even then, the police were called in on Saturday. But the occupants requested a day's time. They were supposed to evacuate the building at noon yesterday.

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Sunil Bhalerao, assistant municipal commissioner, Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation, said the tenants and Gupta were caught in a tussle over who would take over the property post-demolition. "That's the reason they were not leaving."

Bhalerao, who has served 20 more buildings evacuation notices, said this is the fourth one to be demolished in this ward. "We started issuing notices in 2010 itself. We gave a notice on May 22, then we cut the electricity this month on August 5, and asked them to vacate."

There are 16 more such buildings to be razed.

Bhiwandi, a power loom district, has 16 more extremely dilapidated buildings. Besides, it has about 200 moderately dilapidated buildings. Although illegal, it is a common practice to operate a power loom on the ground floor of such buildings and use the upper floors for residential purposes.