Mumbai: 18 days after 2 boys die in its tank, BMC razes down family hut

Ankush and Arjun Vangri’s cousin and aunt; (right) The deceased’s paternal uncle, Kanji Kavithya, and his family whose hut was demolished on April 5. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

More than two weeks after two brothers, aged four and five, died after falling into a water tank at Maharshi Karve Garden in Wadala, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished their hut along with most shanties on Road No. 16, Subhash Nagar, terming them illegal encroachments. The father of the deceased, Manoj Vangri, alleges that the civic body took revenge on them as the Bombay High Court had come down heavily on it for not covering the water tank properly.

Manoj, the father of the boys, Ankush and Arjun Vangri, is in Bharuch, Gujarat, with his wife. He told mid-day over the phone, "They had never tried to demolish these huts before my sons died. We have been staying here for two decades. We don't know why they have razed them all of a sudden."

The scene of the tragedy at Maharshi Karve Garden, Wadala, on Friday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

After the children's bodies were found on March 18, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and slammed the BMC for failing to cover the water tank. While the matter is in the High Court, the BMC began demolishing the hutments at Subhash Nagar on April 3.

"Even after 20 days, I am clueless about the case's status. Now the BMC has demolished the place in which I resided. Nothing is left; only my children's photos are left behind as a reminder of their tragic end. The BMC has offered no compensation to us and we are homeless and helpless," said Manoj.

Ankush (left) and Arjun Vangri

According to locals, there were about 50 huts at Subhash Nagar and people had been residing in them for over two decades. They claimed the BMC had seized their belongings and had not provided alternative accommodation.

"This road has been our home for about 20 years, but our houses were demolished in the blink of an eye. We are clueless about whether our belongings have been seized by the BMC or are scattered. We don't know where to take shelter from the scorching sun," said a resident.

‘We are suffering'

Kanji Kavithya, the paternal uncle of Ankush and Arjun, said, "They had waited for someone to die to cover the tank. And now they have demolished the place where the victims resided. The BMC is just finding new ways to torture us. They seized our belongings and the police would beat us if we tried to stop this. They should have allocated us a place to stay before demolishing our huts. We are now on the streets. We are utterly helpless. I demand justice for both the boys. This happened because of the negligence of the BMC. We are all suffering because of this."

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Deepak Chavan, senior police inspector, Matunga police station, said, "We have registered an FIR in this matter and are investigating the case. Illegal huts have been demolished by the BMC and no one was beaten during the process."

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Chakrapani Alle told mid-day, "We had received complaints from the police and Dosti Empire that people were staying on footpaths. The illegal huts have been demolished and the height of the garden wall increased as encroachers had broken the wall."

April 3
Day BMC started razing huts

March 18
Day boys' bodies were found