Hit by massive cave-in, Wadala society residents say builder & BMC put their lives in danger despite complaints
Anger and disbelief was the mood at Lloyds Estate in Dosti Acres on Tuesday, a day after over 1,000 residents of the upscale building woke up to a massive cave-in near their building on Monday.
The residents were ordered to vacate their homes after the protection wall of the adjoining under-construction plot collapsed taking down the open parking lot of the 32-storey structure and burying at least 15 vehicles.
On Tuesday, the residents were clueless about their alternate accommodation even as they pursued legal and other routes to take on the builder and the BMC, which has now woken up and issued a stop-work notice.
The residents said the mishap was waiting to happen as their repeated complaints to the developer and the civic body had fallen on deaf ears. "The BMC has realised that our lives are at risk a bit too late," said a resident.
Simran Parmar, a member of the managing committee, said they have filed a police complaint against the builder and the civic body for negligence. "Today too there was a landslide but the contractors were continuing their work," she alleged.
Rajan Potdar, deputy chief engineer of building proposal department, said they always responded to residents' complaints. "The structural engineer and report of the builder said that the structure was fit."
A spokesperson of Dosti Realty said they are carrying out remedial measures suggested by Court Court Commissioner Shantilal Jain. "Accordingly the work of backfilling and concretization at the caved in portion is going on under the supervision of our consultants and engineers."
COURT MOVED
- The city civil court on Tuesday directed Dosti Realty to file an affidavit on complying to the demands of the residents of Llyods Estate.
- The resident demands includes compensation for the loses caused to them and promise that no construction work will be carried in the monsoon. The court hearing is scheduled on Wednesday afternoon.
‘WILL TAKE ON BUILDER & BMC HEAD-ON’
The court has directed the developer to file an affidavit on the compensation to us and told that no work will be carried out in monsoon. We won’t move out. We will engage an independent structural engineer to confirm if our building is safe to stay.
—Anila Pillai, resident
We want alternate accommodation in Dosti Acres as we have our offices and schools nearby. We are suffering because of the builder and BMC’s mistake. I have filed a complaint against the builder and BMC for the construction work, which has put our lives in danger.
—Simran Parmar, Comm member
Since the work started last year, our ground floor flooring has been affected. You can clearly see how the entrance area has gone uneven. It was a mishap waiting to happen. Now, we’re only thinking about alternate housing if we have to compulsorily vacate
—Shreya Vinod, resident
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