Mumbai: Barely two days after residents moved out of a decades-old ground-plus-five storey building in Bhendi Bazaar, Dongri, a portion of it crashed on Friday midnight.
Local Congress MLA Amin Patel said the building, Noor Villa, was non-cessed and the crash affected two structures beside it. “Residents from the neighbouring buildings were evacuated as a safety measure,” he said.
Locals said many belongings of Noor Villa’s residents were still in the building when the crash occurred. “The residents moved out after they realised that the structure had become very weak and could crash,” said one of them.
A long-time resident of the locality said the building had only two floors when it was built over 40 years ago. “Over the course of decades, floors kept getting added, probably adding a lot of stress to the structure. This crash was inevitable,” said the resident.
Shiv Sena functionary Shaina N C, who had contested the assembly poll from Mumbadevi, said such a collapse in the area raises questions about corruption and negligence. “Till when will the culprits who endanger the lives of poor citizens be protected?” she said, requesting the CM and the deputy CMs to take strict action in the case. —Richa Pinto
