BMC, fire dept refuse to rescue birds; demolition worker helps NGO owner get the birds to safety
The birds in their cage (circled) still in the collapsed building
Five days after the Bhanushali building collapsed in Fort, an NGO managed to save two lovebirds stuck inside the fourth floor of the building.
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On Tuesday, July 21, Sneha Dipak Visaria, 36, who runs Just Smile Charitable Trust received a message about the birds being stuck in a cage inside the collapsed building site.
"As soon as I got the message, I took the help of a friend who lives in a building opposite the collapsed one. She then took me to Soheb Farooqi's house on the fourth floor of the same building. From his house we spotted the cage in Bhanushali building and that the birds were alive," she said.
"I immediately informed BMC A ward, but they said they don't have any team to rescue the birds. I then informed to the Fire Department but too refused saying that their hydraulic crane would not go into narrow roads. I then took the help of the contractor Bashar Khan who was authorised to clear the debris to ask one of his staff to rescue the birds. Within an hour, one of the labourers brought the cage down," Visaria said.
Also Read: Fort building collapse: 'We slept in a godown,' residents recall nightmare
Sneha has been running the NGO since 2018 and during the pandemic has been feeding 70-80 dogs and cats in the Fort area. Currently, Farooqui is taking care of the two lovebirds after the Pandit family – the original owners — refused to accept the birds.
Assistant Commissioner Chanda Jadhav, A Ward, said, "It's the duty of the fire department to rescue stuck birds or animals. They have the correct equipment and team and should not have denied help."
Sneha Visaria from Just Smile Charitable Trust who got the birds rescued
'Lanes too narrow here'
Fire chief Pankaj Mohite said, "The lane there is too narrow and it was impossible to take a hydraulic crane up to the building. The condition of the building is too poor and it was risky for our officers and for others to rescue the birds from the house. We have shut the entire road and demolition work is underway. The contractor's workers were able to rescue the birds with the help of the bamboo scaffolding."
One portion of the 100-year old Bhanushali building caved in on July 16 in which 10 people lost their lives.
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