Building slab collapses in Vikhroli East; two dead

The building where the accident occurred. Pic/ Rajesh Gupta

A slab collapse resulted in the death of two septuagenarians in Vikroli's Kannamvar Nagar on Thursday evening. The incident occurred at Guru Kripa CHS building, at Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli at around 6.50 pm. The slab collapsed from the second floor on the first one and the slab of the first floor fell on the ground floor resulting in the death of the duo. The building is dilapidated, and many families have moved out while some were in the process of vacating their flats.

According to the BMC officials, the building is three storeys, of which the slab of the 2nd floor collapsed on the 1st floor of the building resulting in the floor of 1st floor caving on the ground floor. The cement of the slab fell on the duo, who were immediately rushed to the Dr. Ambedkar Hospital, Vikhroli where doctors pronounced both dead. The deaths were identified as Sharad Mhaslekar (75) and Suresh Madhalkar (78). Both the deceased are relatives.

An eyewitness recounted that two people were injured on the head. Meanwhile, the locals said they had heard a loud sound after the collapse.

In total 14 buildings in the area were going to be redeveloped under the cluster redevelopment scheme. Out of 32 houses in the building where the collapse happened, only 12 units were still occupied. The BMC corroborated the same.

MLA Sunil Raut, who visited the spot, said the residents had approached MHADA seeking NOC to continue living there but they had not been granted one. "Residents from 14 buildings had approached Diwan developer for redevelopment, but the redevelopment didn't progress. Hence the residents approached MHADA to get the NOC so they could continue living there until they approached a different developer but the officials did not issue the NOC, resulting in the deadly collapse. I demand MHADA officials should be booked under the IPC 302 section as their delay has resulted in the death of the two elderly persons."

Vikhroli cops are investigating the incident.

Kannamwar Nagar redevelopment

Kannamwar Nagar Colony was developed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority in the 1960s. The colony is set to undergo redevelopment since the buildings are nearly six decades old.

With inputs from Sameer Surve