Vashi’s Raghuleela mall shut for six hrs after ceiling falls

The Raghuleela Shopping Mall opposite Vashi railway station was closed for almost six hours after a false ceiling on its third floor fell-off on Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured, however, the incident has raised safety concern for visitors.

The incident occurred at around 12.25 pm when the mall had less number of visitors. The sudden sound of the ceiling falling on the aluminum seats created a panic in the mall premises. Visitors started running to take shelter inside shops.

The fire brigade was called, and the mall was immediately evacuated as a precautionary measure. “We vacated the mall and also removed the damaged part of the false ceiling,” said an official from the Navi Mumbai Fire Brigade.

Mahendra Singh Thoke, a Vashi ward officer of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) said no one was injured in the incident. He added that as a safety measure, the entire dampened false ceiling was removed.

According to the Vashi police, due to incessant rains in July, the false ceiling on the third floor got damped and due to the increase weight as a result, it gave in. “The interior designing of the malls had PoP sheets. There might be some leakages at some places and because of that, it got damped in rain water and those fell down around 12.25 pm,” said Nitin Gite, police inspector from Vashi police station. 

“A structural audit will be carried out of the mall and accordingly the mall be asked to meet the compliance,” said Thoke. He added that if the mall fails to take remedial measures, the civic body will take an action. The mall was reopened at around 6 pm. 

Raghuleela Properties Pvt Ltd said, “In an incident that happened today, a small portion of the false ceiling fell-off. No injuries were reported as there was no movement of people at that time. The same was cleared immediately and the entire area was inspected to ensure safety of the visitors. The mall is back in operation and the retrofitting work will start immediately.” 

WHAT WENT DOWN

• The incident occurred at around 12.25 pm when the mall had less number of visitors 
   
• The sudden sound of the ceiling falling on the aluminum seats created a panic