MUMBAI: The state govt ordered an inquiry into the crash of a part of a five-storey Bhiwandi building that claimed 10 lives.An FIR was lodged against the contractor hired for repairs, Ashok, and building owner, Bilal Khan, under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 125 (negligent act endangering human life or personal safety of others) of BNS and relevant provisions of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act for illegal construction, said DCP (zone 2), Thane, Pawan Basod.The PM announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of those killed and the CM Rs 5 lakh each.This was the third such major building collapse in Bhiwandi since 2020.Repairs began four days earlier after residents flagged falling plaster chunks and hired a contractor on their own. The building was not vacated during the work.Around 8pm on Thursday, residents noticed that a supporting pillar in wing B had developed a crack and was tilting, alerted the contractor and vacated the building.
Hundreds of dangerous buildings in MMR, thousands at risk (Photo credit: Santosh Gupta)
Workers were immediately brought in and the pillar was reinforced with iron support rods. Assuming that the structure had been stabilised, many residents went back into the building around 11.30pm.Moments later, half the wing collapsed, trapping many residents and labourers under the rubble.Over the next 15 hours, NDRF, fire brigade and Thane disaster response force personnel pulled out the bodies of Rakesh Paswan (25), Mukesh Paswan (30), Ashok Paswan (40), Krish Kumar (32), Ranjit Singh (45), Radheshyam Kushwaha (45), Siraj Rasul Sheikh (45), Shamim Ansari (32), Shyam Pal (40), and Santosh Pandey (42).Those injured, Abhay Yadav (26), Deepak Yadav (25) and Sangeeta Prajapati (36), were taken to a hospital. Some residents were rescued from the portion of the wing that remained standing.An NDRF officer said the building suffered a “pancake collapse”, in which one floor falls directly onto another.“The chances of survival in such collapses are extremely low. We deployed trained sniffer dogs to locate the victims.”Disaster management minister Girish Mahajan, who visited the site, said the repairs were carried out late at night to escape civic scrutiny.He directed the authorities to ensure that all dangerous buildings in Bhiwandi are vacated and appropriate action.Mehtab Ansari, a resident, told TOI that all flat owners had contributed around Rs 10,000 each for the repairs.Another resident, Komal Arvind Gupta, alleged that negligence during the work damaged the pillar.
