Pipeline under building bursts, killing 60-yr-old

An underground pipeline burst inside a flat at Sanjeevni Building in Govandi (East), leading to the death of a senior citizen and leaving 14 residents injured. The 24-inch underground water pipeline burst early morning yesterday.

Doud Raut, a resident of Sanjeevni building, points to the spot where the pipeline exploded around 4.30 am on Monday. The incident damaged 18 flats on the ground floor

The five-storey building was built on the pipeline, which burst inside 45-year-old Sambhaji Bhandare's house, room no 5 of the building. Bhandare's son Sunil (24) said, "We felt some tremors and woke up immediately. We started waking our children, and before we could realise, the pipe burst, spreading water all over the house."

Devisingh Hajare (60) drowned in teh state. Pic/Sameer Markande

Sunil said they experienced a minor electric shock but contained the damage by switching off the main power switch. There were about seven people in Bhandare's house at the time of the incident. All the members of the family have sustained minor injuries. But Sunil's mother Sunanda Bhandare (45) has been admitted to Sion Hospital and is in a critical condition.

Drowned in house
Devisingh Hajare (60), who lived in a flat opposite to Bhandare's house, drowned in the water and lost his life. Hajare's daughter Renuka (40) said, "As soon as we realised that there something was wrong, we ran out of the house. But my father couldn't make it. Water just gushed into our flat and my father drowned in it."

Renuka's five-year-old visually-challenged daughter, Shraddha, is traumatised by the incident and has been admitted in the paediatric ward of Shatabdi Hospital. Authorities at the hospital said thatu00a0Shraddha's condition is now stable. Of the 14 injured, two have been admitted to Shatabdi Hospital, whereas 11 others were immediately discharged after being treated at the facility. One person was admitted to the state-run Lokmanya Tilak Hospital Hospital in Sion.u00a0

Another resident Ravidra Salve (45) said, "My wife suffers from bilateral paralysis. She has a swollen leg as a table fell on her. My son Suraj (23) is admitted in the Shatabdi Hospital due to high blood pressure. I lost my money, mobile phone, and other valuables in the incident. I have absolutely nothing right now."

Resident Sunil Devkule (38) said, "I came out of the house to see what was wrong and I saw water gushing into the lobby." Devkule added, "The builder of this building, Mahesh Gawde, is nowhere to be seen. He had told us that the pipeline was removed and then this building was built. Now there is water in our houses and we have nowhere to live. We have been sitting in the building compound since morning."

The corporator of M-West ward Anil Patankar said, "The building wasn't well-planned which led to this disaster. I have informed the higher BMC officials about this incident and have urged them to take appropriate action." The civic authorities said that residents of the area will get water supply at 5 pm instead of the regular supply at 11 am today.u00a0