Eleven people were injured after the slab of a house in the Dharavi transit camp came crashing down in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to the Dharavi police, the incident occurred at around 5.45 a.m. while the occupants of the ground-plus-one structure were asleep. Senior Police Inspector Suryakant Bangar said, “The slab of a first floor house fell on the sleeping residents. Eleven people were injured, but no one is in a critical condition.” Neighbours alerted the police control room and the police and the fire brigade rushed to the spot. All 11 occupants were pulled out from the debris and rushed to Sion Hospital. Ten of them were discharged after treatment.
Shabnam Sheikh, one of the injured residents, said. “My mother, father, brother and I were sleeping on the ground floor. Our tenants, a group of embroidery labourers, stayed on the first floor. Suddenly there was a loud noise and the house came crashing down on us.” Naeem Khan, a relative of the Sheikhs, said, “The house seemed to be strong. It was hard to believe such a incident could take place.”
Ramakant Biradar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of G-North Ward, said, “This is a slum area where buildings are constructed without the help of an architect or plan. Many people reside in them too. The house was old and the slab gave away in the rains.”
Mr. Biradar said the camp falls under the Dharavi Redevelopment Plan.
