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Heavy rain lashes city, 8 killed as building wall crashes in
Thane
First Big Downpour Throws Life Out Of Joint; State Toll Rises To
46 In A Week
Mumbai/Thane: Tragedy struck during the very first spell of
heavy rains this monsoon with nine people dying in the vicinity
of construction sites in Mumbai and Thane on Wednesday.
Forty-six people have died across the state since the monsoon
began.
Eight people were killed in Thane (west) after the boundary wall of a construction site fell a little after 4 am on their adjoining tenements while they were asleep. In Mumbai, the heavy rains, which fell mainly on Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, claimed the life of 65-year-old businessman Ratilal Gadaman when scaffolding from an under-construction site in Mulund got blown away and fell on him. Mumbai received 110.2 mm of rain in Colaba and 114.6 mm in Santa Cruz in 36 hours from 8.30 am on Tuesday till 8.30 pm on Wednesday, according to the weather bureau. Since the start of the season, the city has now got 260 mm of rain, while it had got only 5 mm by this time last year, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal announced. There were traffic jams at several spots, especially on LBS Marg, and water-logging in chronic areas like Hindmata, Parel. Flights were delayed from early morning at the airport, with a cascading effect continuing through the day. The state government announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for those with serious injuries and Rs 5,000 for those with minor injuries in all rain-related incidents across Maharashtra. In Thane, a wall bordering the under-construction Dosti Vihar crashed atop tenements at Dnyaneshwar Nagar on Pokhran Road No. 1. MONSOON HITS MUMBAI WITH A VENGEANCE IT’S POURING BUCKETS Colaba: 110.2 mm Santa Cruz: 114.6 mm Between 8.30 am on Tuesday and 8.30 pm on Wednesday, according to the Met dept. Lake levels rose FLIGHTS WERE HIT Departures on schedule, but no flights land from 7-7.45 am. Five flights diverted to Ahmedabad. Delays of 30-45 min all day TRAFFIC CRAWLED Between Sion-Dharavi, on LBS Marg between Ghatkopar-Kurla, S V Road, Saki Naka, Hill Road, Vakola and Andheri on Western Express Highway & Kandivli (E) TRAINS LIMPED 18 trains cancelled until 6 pm on CR—12 on main line, 6 on Harbour. 9 WR trains cancelled. Delays ranged from 30-45 mins WET WEATHER AHEAD Thundershowers predicted in Mumbai till Saturday Bldg material pile led to mishap? Mumbai/Thane: Thane municipal commissioner R A Rajeev told mediapersons that the survivors of Wednesday’s wall collapse at Dnyaneshwar Nagar and their families are being accommodated in Vartak Nagar. Eight people were crushed to death in the incident, in which a boundary wall fell on 10 rooms of the Jai Bhole Veer Savarkar Chawl at Pokhran Road No. 1. A large volume of sand and other construction material had been kept on one side of the wall, which apparently gave way due to the pressure. The victims were identified as Shivakant Giri, 45, Idavati Singh, 40, Meera Thakur, 40, Vishwanath Thakur, 45, Savita Bhagat, 25, Sangeeta Bhagat, 26, Pinky Bhagat, 15, and Sunaiyya Bhagat, 16. The Disaster Management Cell was informed of the incident when the wall of the under-construction Dosti Vihar collapsed on the tenements. Around 5 am, Dr Shilpa Goswami, TMC medical officer, reached the spot with mobile vans and medical aid. The wall was being built along a drain. When asked if any ward officer or TMC official would be held accountable for the tragedy, Rajeev said, “At present, the inquiry is on. Once it is finished, we will know who is to blame.’’ Thane mayor Ashok Vaity said that at the onset of monsoon, TMC sends notices to those who live dangerously close to creeks, drains and landslide zones. However, many do not move out.Though a police case has been registered on charges of culpable homicide and death due to negligence, under IPC Section 304 (A), no person has been named or arrested. The zonal DCP, Ashok Morale, told TOI, “The FIR has been lodged under IPC Section 304 (A), but the accused persons have not yet been identified as the investigations are not over. We have to find out who was responsible for the wall collapse.’’ When TOI called the Dosti Group office in Mumbai, a staffer said the managing director had left for the day. The MD’s cell number was switched off. TMC officers said they visited the builders’ on-site office but found no one present. One of the survivors, Pyarelal Rengare, and his family have been rendered homeless. “The existing boundary wall was recently being reconstructed to increase its height. We were concerned as we live right next to it, but who listens to poor people?’’ said Rengare, a pavement hawker near Vandana Cinema in Thane. Another affected person, Satynarayan Amkare, was lucky—his house just missed being crushed by the wall. “We have been staying here for 20 years, but the builders have only now come to our neighbourhood and created havoc. We demand justice,’’ he said. 
WALL OF GRIEF: Six women, two of them teenagers, were among the
eight killed when a wall collapsed on a tenement in Thane’s
Pokhran area early on Wednesday
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