‘Govt threw us here and forgot all about us’: Fed-up Mahul residents want permanent relief

Workers clear debris at the Mahul crash site on Monday

Several hours after a landslide crushed six to seven houses snuffing out 19 lives at Mahul's Bharat Nagar, authorities vacated 25 tenements in the vicinity and provided accommodation to their occupants for five days at a building for project-affected people (PAP). Sitting in their temporary accommodation at Vishnu Nagar, the residents said it was of no use as they will have to return to their own homes in a few days.

The area has over 6,000 houses sitting on a slope and all are prone to landslides. Those in the PAP quarters said the government should provide them with permanent relief considering there is threat to their lives.

Rescuers at the scene of the tragedy at Mahul on Sunday. Pic/Sameer Markande

The tragedy occurred around midnight on Saturday after a protective wall gave way due to heavy downpours and a mudslip. It also left five people injured. Locals said they couldn't come to the rescue of their neighbours due to a fallen live wire. BMC officials said on Monday that 13 workers were clearing the mud from the scene of the tragedy.

However, residents of three houses near the landslide spot said they have been left in the cold. One of them, Shakila Sayed, said, "While all our neighbours have been moved to PAP houses, we are left here without any proper care or concern for our lives. There is absolutely no one around and it becomes very quiet during the evening time. Also, there is no electricity here."

Also read: Mumbai Rains: Why floodwater receded slowly

Ranjana Manake, one of the residents at the PAP quarters

A local who has been given accommodation at Vishnu Nagar had come to check if rain had flooded her house. Another resident who lives 50 to 70 meters from the collapse site said they failed to understand why the government could not accommodate just three more families instead of saying they have no space.

Ranjana Manake was still to come to terms with the "horrible night of her life". She said, "We struggled to go out and save our lives as my daughter was here with her one-month-old son and when we came to know such a thing has happened, we rushed out but those currents made it very difficult for us to move. We somehow got out. We have been given temporary accommodation but we want permanent relief and demand we get our houses."

Rescue ends at Vikhroli

On Monday, authorities ended the rescue at Vikhroli where 10 people died in a landslide. Officials said they pressed about 15 workers to clear the debris. They said nearly 30 people from this site were put up at a nearby school though they left for their relatives' houses.

Shakila Sayed whose family has not been given the temporary accommodation

A civic official involved in the rescue said, "Unless there is a housing or relief policy from the state or even if MHADA and PWD take serious efforts to strengthen the retaining walls, nothing is likely to change. Two years back it was Malad's forest area that saw a similar incident, this time it is Mahul and Vikhroli."

25
No. of residents moved to PAP accommodation