800 dangerous structures in Thane

THANE - Alarmed by Tuesday’s building collapse that killed 10 people, the civic body in Thane in Maharashtra said there were about 800 buildings in dilapidated condition posing danger to over 100,000 citizens.

“There are some 800 buildings in our list of dilapidated structures. It will take at least a day to assess the condition and strength of one building and decide whether it is safe enough for people to stay,” Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Deputy Municipal Commissioner B.G. Pawar said.

Townships like Kalwa and Mumbra along with Thane city are a part of TMC. They have a population of around two million.

Ironically, Kalwa township’s Sonibai Bhavan - which crashed Tuesday - was not in TMC’s list of dilapidated structures.

Officials fear it would take several years for them to ascertain whether each building in the city was strong or not.

“Sonibai Bhavan was not in our list of dilapidated structures and there are several such buildings which are yet to be assessed,” Pawar said.

The Sonibai Bhavan building collapse is the third such incident in the area.

On Aug 2, residents of Babu Hafiz Zindani apartments had to shift out as their building collapsed after developing cracks. Vilas apartments in the same area tilted and the residents were shifted out June 20.

“In fact, none of these three buildings are in our list of dangerous structures,” Pawar said.

There were no deaths in the two earlier incidents.