Antop Hill landslide toll reaches five

The landslide on Wednesday morning destroyed six houses of the Devram Chawl,with a father-son duo initially reported dead. The fire brigade and rescue teams had later found three other bodies in the debris. The two whose bodies were discovered earlier were 22-year-old fruit-seller Sandeep Avtar Kevat and his 45-year old father,Ram Avtar.

“Most of the residents of the landslide prone areas in the city have been given prior notices to evict their homes as it is highly dangerous to live atop hills during monsoon. Most of them,however,refuse to leave their homes and shift to temporary shelters,such as civic schools,and instead demand one room structures for permanent use,” said Barde.

According to the BMC data,the number of landslide-prone spots has jumped from 178 last year to 263. More than half of them (148) are in S ward (Bhandup and Vikhroli). Over 200 people have died in landslides in Mumbai in the past decade,according to an RTI information sought by activist Anil Galgali.

Govt panel fails to devise policy

More than three years after the government constituted a committee to survey the landslide-prone areas in the city and devise a policy,the proposal is still on paper. Following a major landslide at Sakinaka in 2009,which killed 11 and injured 13,the government constituted a committee comprising Mumbai Slum Improvement Board members,the Collectorate,BMC and state housing department officials to survey such areas in the city. According to the report,20,036 hutments were at risk,of which 9,657 (in 327 spots across 24 assembly constituencies) needed to be evacuated without delay.

“Although the government has spent over Rs 200 crore on building retaining walls to prevent such landslides since 1995,these incidents continue to claim lives,” said activist Anil Galgali,adding that instead a larger policy of relief and rehabilitation of such families should be devised.