A seven-storeyed residential building was partially damaged on Tuesday morning after a landslide was reported at Chakala locality in Andheri (East). The incident was reported at 2 am on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, and this is the first landslide reported in Mumbai this monsoon. The residential building, Ram Baug CHS, was developed by Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). It comprises 168 flats and all floors above the second floor were affected by the landslide. The building was vacated following the incident. "The building was separated from a hillock by a 15-foot tall retaining wall. Due to heavy rains, the rocks and soil began to roll towards the building, and the mass toppled the wall and entered the building compound. The compound wall saved the lower floors; however floors above the second storey were damaged," said civic officials. The officials also said they have asked the SRA to provide alternative accommodation to residents whose flats are in a vulnerable state. "We have issued a stop-work notice to the builder, who was carrying out some ancillary construction inside the building. We have also asked the management to carry out a structural audit of the building and submit it to us," said a SRA official. Meanwhile, affected residents have blamed SRA authorities for the landslide. Ramesh Nair, a resident, said that owing to the landslide, walls of several apartments have developed cracks. "We have told the builder several times to increase the height of the retaining wall and to install beams on the other side to prevent such mishaps. But they have not paid any heed to us," said Nair. Road cave-in In another incident, a road caved in, near IT Park at Dindoshi in Goregaon East on Tuesday afternoon. A truck parked at the site of the incident fell into the pit. The road was constructed by BMC only last year and civic officials said the onus of maintenance still falls under the defect liability period. Civic officials said the road caved in after a part of the retaining wall of a major nullah collapsed on the road. "There is another nullah that passes beneath the road. The complete wall collapsed on the road. We are investigating the issue. We have also asked the contractor to explain why this road was damaged to this extent within a year of construction," an official said. However, traffic movement wasn't affected too much and a 200-metre stretch of this road has been barricaded to prevent vehicular movement.
