21 July,2023 08:34 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
A wing of Dwarka Dham that collapsed on Thursday. Pic/Navneet Barhate
The prompt action of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, after a mid-day report in May helped prevent a tragedy, when part of a dilapidated building collapsed on Thursday evening. The UMC had sent notices to occupants of Dwarka Dham, a building in Ramayan Nagar that had 66 flats and shops, to vacate the dilapidated building.
mid-day had reported how people could not afford alternative accommodation, but UMC had put its foot down, getting everyone to vacate it. On Thursday, a wing of the building collapsed, trapping a watchman's family that stayed in the basement. They were rescued.
The UMC had launched a campaign in May to vacate buildings declared dilapidated in Ulhasnagar after a structural report. It had also urged occupants of buildings which are more than 20-years-old to get the structural audit done.
mid-day reported that there still were some residents living in such buildings including Dwarka Dham. Following the report, UMC officials again visited the building and got the residents living there to vacate it.
"At 7.30pm on Thursday, a wing of the building collapsed. There were no occupants but the family of a watchman inside was rescued. Vehicles parked below the wing were damaged and some high voltage wires were also damaged resulting in temporary disconnection of electricity" said Additional Municipal Commissioner Jamir Lengrekar.
Around 100 people were shifted to a safer location as a precautionary measure, after a landslide in Bhatwadi at Ghatkopar on Thursday, a civic official said.
The incident took place at 10am in Vajan Kata, Jangleshwar Mandir area, after which residents of 25-30 houses were taken to a municipal school in the vicinity, he said.
Due to the landslide, a large tree fell on the roof of the temple located in Pitamaha Ramji Nagar, prompting N Ward authorities to decide on evacuating people as a precautionary measure, he added.
Inputs by agencies
