Mumbai building collapse: Residents say notice to evacuate came too late

Residents of Shankar Lok Apartments and chawls adjacent to the building which collapsed on Friday refute the statement by civic officials that they had put up a notice asking them to move out of their premises.

"They are going to claim that they had sent notices. I am told a notice was put up at an inconsequential point two days ago. I may have missed it," said Kantilal Patel. 56, as he stood patiently at the site, hoping rescuers would find his wife Chandan in the debris.

Anita Agre, who lives in the chawl, said a notice declaring the building as dangerous was pasted on the door of a common bathroom. "But it did not bear any stamp. How were we to know it was authentic?" she asked.

Darshana Surve, another resident, said they had written several times to the local civic authorities to redevelop the building but they did not get a proper response. "We knew the building was in a dangerous condition, so we asked them to do something about it and they sent us a notice to vacate," Surve said.