BMC appoints structural engineer as consultant

A week after the four-storey Siddhi Sai Cooperative Housing Society in Ghatkopar collapsed claiming the lives of 17 people and leaving 13 others injured, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appointed a consultant to test the debris of the building. Meanwhile, after promises from politicians, including Housing Minister Prakash Mehta, the residents are still waiting for temporary accommodation. Following orders given by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the civic chief appointed a three-member committee headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner Vijay Singhal to conduct an inquiry into the case.

“We have appointed an independent structural engineer to test the material stored at Maniklal Maidan and he has been given a week to submit the report,” said a senior civic official. The inquiry was ordered after the residents repeatedly blamed Sunil Shitap, secretary of the society, who had removed load bearing pillars to carry out renovation of his two flats on the ground floor, which led to the collapse. Shitap has been remanded to police custody till August 7.

The residents said while several politicians including Mehta and Fadnavis have promised temporary accommodation until their building is redeveloped, no one has come to them with any details of the flats.

“We had another meeting with Mehta Tuesday and he promised homes for the 11 families who survived the collapse. We had heard that the accommodation would be in an SRA building and that the flats would be roughly around 260 sq feet in size. While we are aware that there aren’t too many options available, we are hoping that the flats will be decent and will comfortably accommodate all residents,” said Binita Ramchandani, the daughter of one of the residents injured in the collapse.