Mumbai: The clouds of anxiety darken in front of the residents of the old, dangerous huts and buildings in Mumbai. While Mumbai’s history is growing geographically, the question of redevelopment of old huts and buildings in the city has become serious. In the last 50 years, 800 people have lost their lives in building collapses. Part of the three-storey Naiknagar Housing Society building on Shivsrushti Marg east of Kurla was declared dangerous at around 11.45 pm on Monday. Fourteen people were killed and 13 others were injured. This incident has once again raised the question of dangerous buildings.
According to RTI, 815 people have lost their lives in building accidents between 1970 and 2018. According to town planner and architect Chandrasekhar Prabhu, the government should formulate policies for people living in such buildings. The reasons behind the collapse of cess buildings in the city and tenant buildings in the suburbs are completely different, he said.
In the last few years, thousands of families have lost their homes due to the British-era turban system. Because, the landlords did not allow their old tenants to benefit from the redevelopment. The tenants also lived in a collapsed building in Naik Nagar, Kurla. 19 people died in this accident. This building was given by the state government for the tribal Vanjara community when Vasantrao Naik was the Chief Minister. However, even though the members of the Vanjara community had no rights, they sold their houses to people from other communities. However, after realizing that they had no right to sell the houses, they rented them out. Therefore, the repair work of the building was constantly neglected.
The number of cessed buildings in the urban areas from Bandra-Sion to Colaba in Mumbai is more than 14,000. The main thing is that many of these constructions have a history of 100 years. As this history unfolds, the quality of the construction is a matter of concern. As there is no solution yet, the residents have to live with it. Only repairs are being done. Responsibility for all these cessed buildings was handed over to MHADA Authority’s Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board.
- So refuse to leave the house
Dangerous, high-risk buildings are located in South Mumbai, Central Mumbai and other areas. From those buildings, there are two options: move to another place at your own expense or opt for MHADA’s transit camp. However, due to lack of financial resources, most of the residents cannot afford to live elsewhere at their own expense. Also, they are not ready to accept the option of transition camp. Transition camps are mainly in the suburbs. There are always complaints that their quality is not so good. Besides, there is no guarantee as to why he once went to live in a transition camp and when he will return home.
