2 die in Grant Rd bldg crash

The injured were rushed to the Nair hospital, where Shabbir Bohli Shaikh (35) and Abdul Kalam Shaikh (16) were declared dead before admission, while the other four were discharged after first aid. The police have arrested a contractor, Nanif Panirwala, who was allegedly carrying out unauthorised renovations on the first floor, but they are yet to initiate action against the owners of the building Fakhruddin Pedhiwal and his family. Panirwala is being interrogated at the Dr D B Marg police station.

According to fire brigade and civic sources, haphazard renovations and structural changes,particularly on the first floor of the A wing could have led to the collapse.

“I was studying in my house when suddenly the whole building started trembling. I rushed out and saw huge chunks of plaster falling down from the third floor,” said Arif, a resident of the first floor of the front portion of the A wing.

“I immediately called Panirwala, the contractor, on his mobile phone that he should stop the construction or else the entire building will come down, but it collapsed while I was still talking to him,” he said. Deputy Chief Fire Officer T G Nankani said that the work of removing debris is on. “Most of the A wing was vacant, and we hope that no more bodies are found,” he said.

The rescue operation was also hampered due to the location of the building amid narrow lanes. “We are facing problems due to a single small entrance to the rear part of the building. But we are not worried as all those trapped under the debris have been rescued,” Nankani added.

The residents of the building claimed that they had been complaining to the BMC, MHADA and even the Lok Ayukta to stop the illegal changes made by the owner, but no action was ever taken. “The building was first repaired in 1970s when A R Antulay was the chief minister of Maharashtra. However, immediately after that, 10 rooms in the `C’ wing of the building collapsed, but no action was taken against anybody,” said Yusuf Karachiwala, a resident of the building’s `B’ wing.

“I have complained to the BMC about the illegal construction carried out by almost all tenants. Most of the wooden partitions separating the flats have been replaced by RCC walls. Even the wooden beams have been pulled down and many flats have ceilings propped up by RCC beams, increasing load on the structure,” he pointed out. BMC chief Girish Gokhale, who visited the spot, said that he will investigate into the complaints of the residents.

“I will have to speak to the officers concerned of the `D’ ward and decide on what action to take,” he said. State Housing Minister Sureshdada Jain, who rushed to the spot, said that he will order an inquiry into the collapse.