Wada cave-in claims two lives,PMC had sent notice to vacate

Police said that a wall,about 100 feet high,of the old Shinde wada collapsed over the adjacent single-storey Pataskar wada around 4 am. A fire brigade team led by station officer Sunil Gilbile rushed to the spot.

“Shinde wada must be about 70 years old. The foundation of the walls of the wada may have been weakened due to seepage of rainwater resulting in the collapse. Some residents of Pataskar wada ran away to safety. But we believe Sudha and Vaishnavi Patange were caught under the debris while they were asleep. They were stuck about four feet under the debris,” said Gilbile.

“When we reached the spot,parts of the wall of Shinde wada were still collapsing. But we took a risk and started rescue work immediately as people were stuck inside. With the help of equipment,we could rescue 12 persons,” he added.

Sudha and Vaishnavi were pronounced dead at Sassoon hospital. Vaishnavi was an HSC student at RCM college and apparently worked part-time to help her family. Her elder sister Anjali studies and works part-time,too. Another sister Bhagyashree is married. Her father Avinash is a tailor and brother Abhijit is employed by a private firm. Abhijit also distributes newspapers. The family was residing in rented rooms in the old wada.

Senior police officers including deputy commissioner (Zone I) Makrand Ranade rushed to the spot. Police sub-inspector V B Jadhav is investigating the case.

Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak said the civic administration had served a notice on residents of the dilapidated wada and had even vacated the structure. “Those who died had been evacuated but they again started living there,” he said. The civic administration cannot keep constant watch,Pathak said. The occupants forced to leave the premises allege that the civic administration are hand-in-glove with a developer and the owner of the property.

On June 13,Dilip Tukaram Uddhan (52),a labourer,was killed when part of the old Dhere wada in Kasba Peth collapsed. Another labourer Bharat Bhalerao (50) was injured in the incident. The workers were involved in demolition of the old wada.

The PMC administration has undertaken a drive to pull down dilapidated wadas and it would continue,he added. In 2008,the PMC identified 1,180 structures as dangerous while 140 as “severely hazardous”. The PMC administration has got 95 of them demolished including 35 in the last two months. In 45 structures,people have been asked to get repairs done,and 310 residents in dilapidated wadas have been asked to vacate.