The toll in the building collapse in Cholegaon of Thakurli, a suburb of Thane, has gone up to nine while 10 others are being treated for injuries.The ground-plus-two storey Matrukrupa building collapsed around 10.30pm on Tuesday .Though parts of the structure had started collapsing as early as 9.45pm, residents continued to stay put only to be jolted when the building came crashing down in the next few minutes.
On Wednesday , the Ramnagar police registered a case against three builders--Dhruvpada Patil and her two sons Ramdas and Sharad--under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life of others) and 34 (common intention) of IPC.
Sanjay Jadhav , DCP zone 3 of Thane police, said, “In his complaint, ward officer Vinayak Pandey alleged that the KDMC had issued five notices to the builders, asking them to either repair the building or demolish it. But they did not take any action, which led to the building collapse.“
The part of the building that collapsed was constructed 43 years ago and had 18 rooms in it.An annexe was constructed later on, adding nine more rooms.Though the structure was declared dilapidated by the KDMC in March last year and again in May this year, the residents--mostly from the lower income group--refused to vacate it as they had nowhere else to go.
As the building caved in, locals rushed to help those trapped inside. Fire brigade teams from Mumbai, Thane and Ulhasnagar along with KDMC's disaster management cell and NDRF assisted in the rescue operations that lasted till 12.30pm on Wednesday .
After the rescue operation, .
the KDMC's anti-encroache ment team started demolishing d the rest of the structure. Many residents tried to resist the demr olition and requested the offi cials to allow them retrieve e their valuables and documents.
Suman Balan and his sibling Jayapriya, who recently cleare ed their board exams, were seen e pleading with the officials to e help them collect their mark h sheets. The survivors said t though the structure had ale ready started showing signs of d dilapidation, the prohibitive re al estate prices in the region did , not allow them to move out of Matrukrupa. “We know it could be our turn tomorrow, but what can we do? Real estate prices in Dombivli and Kalyan are beyond our reach,“ said a resident of another dilapidated building Local corporator Srikar Chaudhari said he will demand a survey of all structures in his ward at the earliest. KDMC mayor Kalyani Patil said she will request the district guardian minister to press for cluster development and an FSI of 4.Survivors of Matrukrupa are being housed temporarily at a community house in the area, said a senior KDMC official. Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt on Wednesday drew the legislative council's attention to the Matrukrupa building collapse, stating that the KDMC was doing nothing in cases of dangerous buildings except serving notice on them. Dutt also said there was no permanent arrangement of transit camps.
MNS leader Rajesh Kadam claimed that the KDMC's disaster management cell reached the spot late and did not have basic equipment. He said he will urge the KDMC chief to impart special training to the disaster management team.
JCB machine crushes boy by mistake
The Jhanjhurakias lost their 9-year-old son, Kartik, in the building crash. Though Kartik and his 19-year-old sister Hetal managed to call their parents from their phones, the boy's location could not be traced in time. By mistake, a JCB machine involved in the rescue operation went over the same spot where Kartik was stuck and crushed him to death. At the time of the mishap, Hetal was in the hall while Karthik was stuck inside the bathroom.“Both were continuously calling for their parents for help,“ said local resident Rajesh More.
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