The Hindu : National : 200 feared trapped in landslip

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Friday, Jul 29, 2005

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National

200 feared trapped in landslip

Prachi Pinglay

63 bodies recovered, 70 structures crushed in Saki Naka slum; rescue hampered

— PHOTO: PTI

AT WORK: Rescue workers recovering a body at a jhuggi cluster at Saki Naka in Mumbai on Thursday.

MUMBAI: At least 200 people are feared trapped under the landslip that crushed around 70 structures in a slum in Saki Naka in north Mumbai. Municipal officials, the Rapid Action Force, the Mumbai Police, an NGO called Academy of Disaster Management and local people worked together to extricate 63 bodies from the rubble. This site accounts for the largest number of casualties from one spot in Mumbai.

The slum, called Lal Bahadur Shastri Nagar, consists of some concrete and some makeshift structures. Built on the side of a hill, the settlement is around 20 years old housing at least 40,000 people. However, the structures crushed under the boulders were of more recent origin, constructed only five to six years ago, residents said.

The Municipal Corporation had to demolish nine structures to make way for the machines to remove the rubble and dig the bodies out. The congested lanes between crowded houses are barely two feet wide and volunteers had made chains to pass the rubble in gunny bags, as machines would not reach there.

Ravi Sharma, a resident whose house is adjacent to the collapsed houses, said, "We were fortunate that our house did not collapse. It happened so suddenly. People could not even run out. And people generally stay indoors when it is raining. So a lot of people are trapped."

Another resident, Afzal, who was busy helping to remove the rubble, said that his entire family was trapped inside. "I had come out for some work and everything just collapsed behind me. My father, mother, brother, his wife, are all inside, " said the teary-eyed boy and immediately resumed his work with the volunteers.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner Shantaram Kudalkar said it would be a difficult task to remove the rubble. "Our first priority is to find the trapped. For that we have to make the way for the machines to reach the accident site. Now we will also have to break the boulders and then clear them. After this, I will make this area a prohibited place, as it is too dangerous. Moreover, we have evacuated those living on top of the hill."

All the residents who have been evacuated from the top of the hill or from the structures near the boulders have been staying at neighbours' places. The land belongs to the government so they will arrange their rehabilitation, said one BMC official.

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