Landslide hits residential building in Andheri; no casualties reported

The ground-plus seven-storeyed Ram Baug Cooperative Housing Society on Mahakali Caves Road, was hit by the mudslide at 2am. It damaged several flats in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building with 163 one-room-kitchen apartments

Mumbai: Landslide struck a residential society in Andheri East in the early hours of Tuesday when rocks and mud from a hillock adjoining it came loose following heavy rains and crashed into the building. No casualties have been reported in the incident.

Mumbai, India - July 25, 2023 : Landslide behind Ram baug building, at Chakala, Andheri, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The ground-plus seven-storeyed Ram Baug Cooperative Housing Society on Mahakali Caves Road, was hit by the mudslide at 2am. It damaged several flats in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building with 163 one-room-kitchen apartments.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that residents of around seven affected apartments have been shifted to vacant flats on the seventh floor of the building. They have also recommended that the residents should shift to a safer place till the safety of the building is assessed.

This incident comes within a week of a landslide that killed 27 in Irshalwadi, Raigad district, and a fortnight after a road caved-in in Chunabhatti, Mumbai, burying more than two dozen vehicles.

On Tuesday, the brunt of the damage to Ram Baug was borne by the houses on the first floor of the B wing, through rooms 112 to 116.

“We heard a loud noise, and everything shook at 2am, and woke us up. Frightened, we could see the wall had fallen and rocks had poured in, but we didn’t bother to check and just ran out,” said Namrata Adangale, who lives in room 115 with her mother.

The neighbours gathered outside, and loud noise and tremors followed again at 3:30am and 5am. “We’d renovated our house just two months ago. Now, it’s all ruined,” she said.

In the afternoon, as the mud and rocks were being carried out of her house, Namrata and her mother were camping in a neighbour’s flat opposite theirs on the same floor.

Next door in room 114, similarly, the wall adjacent to the window facing the hillock had also broken and debris lay scattered. On the other side in 116, a window had caved in with portions of the wall around it. Utensils were scattered on the floor.

In room 113, rocks pressed against a window with clothes hanging to dry sandwiched between. A few cracks lined the walls around.

“We have evacuated residents of around seven flats to the empty flats on the seventh floor, which were kept vacant for project affected persons as part of the SRA project,” said the BMC official adding, “The landslide happened due to rains.”

“The SRA and the developer are inspecting the stability of the building and the damaged portion. They will decide what has to be done,” said the official.

The official said that for their own safety the residents should shift to a safer place till a conclusion is reached about the building’s safety.

“We have schools to shift them into, however, the residents have made no requests in this regard,” said the official

Govindamma, a resident of the building, who lives there with six others including four daughters, said, “We’ve been awake since 2am, and we’ve not dared to use the washroom. Coming to this part of the house feels dangerous.”

A couple of houses on the second floor also took a hit. The window in the bathroom of room 215 had caved in, with a mound of rocks falling in..

“There’s no assurance that this won’t happen again in the rains,” said Simran Clyde Almeida, a resident. “Something similar had happened 10 years back. At that time, one house on the first floor was damaged and then fixed by the builder. Some safety work was done too.”

Dolcy John Kinney, a family friend who is staying over, pointed to a net covering the hill. “There should be a protective wall between the building and the hill.”

Sandeep Naik, former corporator of the ward, visited the building to assure the residents. He said, “The builder had just cemented a part of the hill and left it. The responsibility is with the builder, and the SRA who gave him the permission.”