Mumbai: As rocks start sliding off hill, civic body shifts 350 Ambedkar Nagar residents

An Ambedkar Nagar resident points at the area from where rainwater gushes towards the shanties. File pic

In a bid to avoid a repeat of the 2019 incident in which 32 people died and over 130 were injured when the retaining wall of a water reservoir came crashing down on huts in Malad's Ambedkar Nagar area, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) evacuated 350 residents from Kurar village on Tuesday. The operation was conducted after rocks started sliding down from a hilly area in Ambedkar Nagar. In another incident on Monday night, one person was injured after some stones landed on a house in Saki Naka.

Residents of Kurar village informed the disaster management department when the rocks started sliding off the hill around 10 am. A similar incident had taken place on July 1, 2019, when the retaining wall of the reservoir collapsed at two places in the localities of Ambedkar Nagar and Pimpripada.

Officials from the civic body and Forest Department were mobilised after the residents informed them. An official from the disaster control said that the residents complained that rocks were sliding off the hilly area due to heavy water flow.

A BMC official said, "Though no one was injured in the incident, 350 residents have been shifted to a temporary shelter at a municipal school in Parekh Nagar." He further said that the evacuation operation was a precautionary measure.

However, Makrand Dagadkhair, assistant commissioner of P North ward told mid-day, "No major incident took place. People went to the shelter because rumours were spread that we are allotting temporary homes just the way we did after the 2019 incident. But after they realised that nothing of that sort will happen, half of them returned to their homes."

He further said that after the 2019 incident, the BMC had allotted 100 houses in Chembur under the project-affected people head after the forest office submitted an annexure. "We don't have the right to give homes as the land is under the forest department's jurisdiction. The process of shifting the remaining residents is yet to be completed as we are awaiting an annexure from the forest department. We sent a reminder letter to them one-and-a-half months ago, but there is still no response."

In another incident, one person was injured after some stones fell on his house near GMM road, Sakinaka, on Monday night. The incident was reported around 10.45 pm. "A 47-year-old man sustained injuries and was rushed to a nearby civic hospital, where he was treated and discharged later," said a civic official.