Mumbai’s Ghatkopar hoarding collapse | BMC to take down remaining hoardings on GRP land

Notice has been issued to M/s Ego Media for installing the hoarding that collapsed on the petrol pump during the gusty winds on May 13 evening

Rescuers look for victims under a billboard that collapsed following heavy rain and thundershowers in Mumbai on May 13, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will on May 14 start taking down the remaining hoardings on Government Railway Police (GRP) land at Chheda Nagar in the eastern part of Mumbai, where 14 people lost their lives after a billboard collapsed during a dust storm, an official said.

At least 14 persons were killed and 74 injured after a 100-feet-tall illegal billboard fell at a petrol pump in Ghatkopar during dust storms and unseasonal rains that lashed the city on May 13.

The civic body has prepared a plan to raze the remaining hoardings on the GRP land, the official said.

The BMC had earlier said that it issued a notice to M/s Ego Media Private Limited for installing the hoarding that collapsed on the petrol pump, and the police have registered a case against the company's owner, Bhavesh Bhinde, and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Rescuers look for victims under a billboard that collapsed following heavy rain and thundershowers in Mumbai on May 13, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Talking to PTI, a senior official said the assistant municipal commissioner of the N-ward had issued a notice to an advertisement agency to remove these hoardings with immediate effect, but the civic body has not received any response so far.

The GRP has informed that it does not have the necessary equipment to remove the remaining hoardings and requested the BMC to take them down, he said.

A hoarding collapses in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar killing at least nine and leaving 70 others injured, in Mumbai on May 13, 2024. | Photo Credit: ANI

The hoardings are erected back to back and will have to be razed one after the other, the official said, without specifying the timeframe for the demolition.

Another civic official said the hoardings were located along the Eastern Express Highway, which connects Mumbai with Thane.

They are placed about 100-150 meters away from each other, he said.

Though the BMC allows holdings of a maximum size of 40x40 square feet, the illegal hoarding that collapsed measured 120x120 square feet.

Amidst dust storm and heavy rainfall, a massive hoarding collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar on Monday. According to BMC officials, the collapse, triggered by strong winds, trapped numerous individuals who are yet to be rescued. @purnima_sah_ reports.

📽️: Special arrangement. pic.twitter.com/LQg4KnoBrZ

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) May 13, 2024

Published - May 14, 2024 03:47 am IST