Bhendi Bazar building residents begged for repairs just 10 days before crash

Workers clear the debris of Hussaini building in Bhendi Bazar on Friday. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

Ten days before it crumbled to the ground, a few residents of Bhendi Bazar's Hussaini building had met Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust's head of tenant management (residential) Shoaib Hashmi with a request to repair the dilapidated structure, but there was no response from him. Sources said four tenants had approached Hashmi, and three of them are now dead, along with the 30 others killed when the 117-year-old structure collapsed on Thursday morning.

Workers clear the debris

"If Hashmi had taken corrective measures, it would have been a different story today. His negligence led to the death of 33 people. Also, last year, MHADA had given the trust permission to demolish the building; why then was no action taken?" questioned one.

Also read: Bhendi Bazar building collapse claims youngest victim

"Even after the demolition notice, no one from the trust approached the tenants regarding shifting even once."

Intentional negligence?
An ex-employee of SBUT, Monesh Vig, who handled shifting of commercial tenants from November 2014 to April 2016, too blamed Hashimi. "He was given the responsibility of shifting the residential tenants. But he chose to do nothing, because then, he would have had to provide them with rent and transit," Vig told mid-day.

"A judicial inquiry should be carried out against him and he must be convicted."

Vig added, "I worked with the trust for nearly two years, and in my tenure, I shifted 500 tenants. But Hashimi never met residents to convince them to move to a transit camp."

The trustees had blind faith in Hashimi, who has now put the trust in a tight spot, said Vig, adding that both Hashimi and his colleague randomly decided which building to vacate, without checking its condition in person, and both didn't keep the SBUT in the loop.

Also read: Bhendi Bazar building collapse: Demolish Dawood Ibrahim's clout to prevent more collapses

The other side
When mid-day called Hashimi, he answered and said to call after sometime as he was in a meeting. During the second attempt, some other person answered the phone and said he was still in the meeting, telling us to get in touch with the trust's spokesperson.

A spokesperson for SBUT trustees denied all allegations of the tenants. "No resident had approached us for repairs. If anyone is claiming that, there has to be some written application or document to prove it. We can't just go by their word. If they would have complained, then too there should be some acknowledgement of the same," the spokesperson said.

16.5 acres
Total area that the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust is rebuilding as part of a cluster redevelopment project in Bhendi Bazar

Photos: 10 Gruesome images of the Bhendi Bazar building collapse