They came to Mumbai seeking work and a better life. Then the hillock collapsed

Vikit Ramesh Yadav

Vikit Ramesh Yadav, 30: Killed on his birthday

Vikit Ramesh Yadav had gone to work after dinner on Tuesday, his 30th birthday. He had recently begun earning more steadily as a delivery worker and had started a small online business. His childhood friend Saddam Hussain Khan, 29, had gone to meet him to celebrate. Saddam remained trapped under the rubble on Wednesday evening.

At the hospital, Vikit’s mother Chaya Ramesh Yadav sat with her sister as her two other sons kept asking, “Dada, why did you leave us?”

A widow who raised three children alone, Chaya said Vikit had only recently begun rebuilding his life after a divorce. He had also spent years organising Ganpati celebrations and bhandaras with his modest earnings.

“He would say, ‘The more we offer, the more we will get in life. God will bless us with more,’” she said.

Mohammad Samir Ansari

Mohammad Samir Ansari, 14: Brought to Mumbai to work

Samir had returned to Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh only a week before the landslide. His father, Kamal Hassan, had brought him to the city hoping he would eventually work alongside him.

The family had lived on rent in the settlement for 25 years. When the hillock collapsed, Samir was sleeping on the ground floor with two cousins. Hassan managed to pull the two cousins out before reaching his son.

At around 4.15 am, he pulled Samir from the debris and rushed him to Appex Hospital in Sakinaka. He was declared dead.

“I regret bringing him here. It would have been better if we had stayed back in our village and earned little…We came here for a better life, but we lost everything,” Hassan said.

Mohammad Arif Shaikh

Mohammad Arif Shaikh, 45: Moved his family to Mumbai for more space

Arif, a tailor, had been living with his parents in Sion. After his brother married, there was little room for Arif, his wife and their children. He decided to bring the family from Jaunpur to Mumbai, hoping to find a better home.

Two days after his wife and children arrived, the hillock collapsed on their home. Arif, his wife Marjina and their two children were killed.

Outside the mortuary, his father Mohammed Ali looked through photographs of the family.

“If my son had not been forced to move out, my son, his children and my daughter-in-law would all have been alive,” he said.

Marjina Arif Shaikh, 27: Two days in the city

Marjina had arrived from Jaunpur with her husband and two children just two days before the landslide. The family planned to stay for about a month while looking for a permanent home.

Her sister Rubina Kusheed Shaikh had been helping them find accommodation.

“She had asked me to arrange temporary accommodation for her and her family. They planned to stay for a month and, once they found a better place, move elsewhere,” Rubina said.

Instead, Marjina died with her husband and children.

“My only sister, whom I raised since she was little, is gone,” Rubina said.

Mannat Arif Shaikh, 4: A childhood cut short

Four year old Mannat had arrived in Mumbai just two days before she was killed.

She had travelled from Jaunpur with her parents and younger brother Aaban.

Aaban Arif Shaikh, 2: Youngest among the dead

Two year old Aaban was pulled from the rubble by neighbours and taken towards Rajawadi Hospital. He died on the way.

Sahil Husen Abdul Kazi, 19: Two days into a new job

Sahil had come to Mumbai from Basti in Uttar Pradesh to earn for his family. He arrived on Sunday and started working as a cab driver. Two days later, the landslide killed him.

His father pulled him out of the rubble around 4 am and rushed him to Appex Hospital in Sakinaka, where doctors declared him dead.

Sahil was the second of five siblings and the family’s only earning member. His parents are daily wage workers and his elder brother is mentally unwell.

“He had just come here to earn and support his family. His parents had hoped that his income would give the family a better life,” said his uncle Sarvar Ansari.