Heavy downpour takes a toll on Mumbai's infrastructure

A day after three children died when a wall collapsed due to a landslide in Kurla, another one was reported in nearby Ghatkopar on Friday. According to civic officials, portions of a hill in Valmiki Nagar slid down on the hutments located below. Fortunately, there were no casualties this time, though a few hutments were completely destroyed.

Officials from the municipal corporation and the collectors’ office said that the families residing in the area were informed in advance that the site is landslide prone. A senior civic official said that notices had been put up before monsoon, asking residents to vacate these structures. The civic body does not have the powers to evict them forcefully.

After the incident, civic staff shifted all the families residing within 30 metres of the landslide area. Thirty-odd hutments perched on top of the hillock were also razed, as officials said that these were illegal.

“If they knew that these huts are on landslide-prone land, why did they allow us to live here? I have been staying here for 16 years. I also have a voter card and a ration card issued for this address. How can they break our houses down?” said Sunil More, one of those affected by the demolition drive. What is surprising is that despite being illegal, the shacks have water and sewage connections.

Additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta said that the drive razed only those hutments located in the danger zone. He added that the displaced will be provided alternate accommodation, if eligible.

However, some of the affected are already making plans of rebuilding their shacks at the same place. “We don’t have the means to pay high rent, and will continue to live here despite these warnings unless we get alternative accommodation,” one said.