Balcony of Esplanade Mansion in Colaba collapses on parked taxi

Balcony of a residential building collapsed in South Mumbai on Sunday evening. The balcony of the fourth floor of Esplanade Mansion in M G Road in Chandra Chowk, opposite Kala Ghoda in Colaba collapsed. The debris fell on the third floor balcony and subsequently it fell on a taxi parked near the building. Fortunately, the driver of the taxi, Mahendra Yadav, escaped unhurt as he was not inside the car. According to official from BMC, Esplanade Mansion is a heritage structure of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and it is a cessed building. The the building was already declared dangerous in 2009 and put in C1 category. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Fire Brigade vacated the building as safety measure.

Rasik Dubale, an official from MHADA said it is a heritage and cessed building. "The building was already declared dangerous and most of families had vacated," said Dubale. He added that around 25 people were staying and Mumbai Fire Brigade vacated them as safety measure.Esplanade Mansion, also known as Watson Hotel, is a heritage structure in Kalaghoda area and is India's first and oldest surviving cast-iron building. It has been in the dilapidated list of the Mumbai Buildings Repair and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) of MHADA since 2009 at least. The redevelopment of the building could not be done as owner and tenants are at loggerhead. The owner wanted to a new construction while tenants want that it can be repaired in phase wise. A court case is also pending.