12 dead, 7 hurt as Thane bldg collapses overnight : Hindustan Times

THANE: Twelve people were killed and seven injured after a threestorey building, Krishna Niwas, at Naupada in Thane collapsed at 2am on Tuesday. This is the second building collapse in the district in seven days, after last Wednesday’s incident at Thakurli that claimed nine lives.

Although the civic officials said the 52-year-old building was not dilapidated, there was a plan to redevelop the structure, which got stuck because of a dispute between the owners and noncooperation of residents.

To avoid such incidents in the future, the state is mulling an amendment to the Mumbai Rent Control Act to empower civic bodies to evict tenants from dilapidated buildings. The amendment will make the landlord responsible for time-bound redevelopment and rehabilitation of tenants.

“Hundreds of buildings in Mumbai and Thane are in a dilapidated condition. Despite issuing notices, tenants refuse to vacate houses, as they are worried about rehabilitation,” said housing minister Prakash Mehta, adding the government will i ssue an ordinance to amend the Act in a few weeks.

Constructed i n 1963, the Thane building had eight flats, with five families living in it. According to the residents of buildings in the vicinity, they heard a thud around 2am. “We called the control room and the helpline number. The fire brigade officials helped rescue Arvind Nene, 80, who lived on the second floor. He was taken to the Thane civic hospital,” said Vijay Dawre, who lives in the neighbouring Ashtavinayak building.

“We reached the spot within 15 minutes. The fire brigade team had pulled out three people, even before the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team could reach the spot,” said Santosh Kadam, disaster management officer.

NDRF deputy commandant Sachidanand Gavde said they received a call at 2.55am and a team of 50 reached Thane at 4.10am.

 “It was a six-hour operation. We rescued seven people. The authorities had arranged for l ights, which made the operation easier,” said Gavde.

While those living on the third floor were rescued alive, those on the first and second floor did not survive. The flats on the ground floor were vacant.

“It was a combined effort of various agencies such as the NDRF, Thane municipal corporation, fire brigade, disaster management cell, hospital staff, the police and locals. We will take necessary action after investigation,” said Sachin Patil, deputy commissioner of police, Thane city zone 1.

Developer Shantibhai Thakkar, who was supposed to redevelop the structure, said, “There is a dispute between the owners -- Jagganath and Krishna Patil. We have been waiting for the matter to be solved for more than three years. The residents, t oo, are not cooperating.”