Ghatkopar building collapse: Survivours struggling to rebuild lives

Siddhi Sai building in Ghatkopar

On July 25, 2017, Siddhi Sai building in Ghatkopar had collapsed, when a politician carried out unauthorised work. Its survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives. The government had given them an alternate, temporary accommodation in one of Bhandup's SRA buildings, which wasn't chosen by many.

Rajesh Doshi, who was trapped under the rubble for 13 hours, is yet to come to terms with the trauma. While his life was supposed to get back to normal after his one-and-a-half-month stay in the hospital, he continues to have trouble walking. He also has to manage the rent since his family lost their home. The Doshis also lost about Rs 30 lakh worth of jewellery in the incident. His son, Darshan, said, "We had brought the jewellery home just a few days back, as the bank had gone through a scam. We lost everything anyway." The family could trace their documents from the rubble that was dumped in a nearby ground. Rajesh's wife, Rita, said, "He is still in trauma and keeps thinking all the time. He is scared to stay out of the house alone for a long time. We have to pay Rs 22,000 every month as rent." After the accident, they had to shift from the home of one friend to another for almost a month, before taking a rented house.

Also Read: Mumbai: Wall collapses in Parel; locals allege 'faulty construction'

Another family from the same building, the Shahs lost two members: the family matriarch and a teenaged daughter in the accident. They were 8 members in total, 5 adults and 3 children, living in a 2BHK house. After the accident, the family lived with a few relatives and then moved to a building nearby. Dharmishtha Shah, who lost her mother-in-law and her daughter, said, "I got rescued immediately, but nobody understood where the other family members were. Later, we forced ourselves to get back to life. We also retrieved our documents in the rubble that was dumped and guarded. Our relatives helped us build our lives back, but the Rs 5 lakh compensation from the government is not going to bring our family back. At the very least, the government should help in developing the building, but there is no word on it."

Also Read: Officials planning to relocate Malad wall collapse victims; locals refuse

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates