Mumbai building collapse kills 11
A residential building has collapsed in Mumbai (Bombay), killing 11 people and injuring more than 20.
Just yesterday, I was chatting with a colleague who’s from Bombay and we discussed this possibility. Is this the beginning of the aftermath? What else do you need to look at? Foundations? Seepage? Shoddy construction? Any unusual happenings in the ground floor apartments?
You know, when I lived in Matunga (W), the apartment I rented had a serious flaw. Being a ground floor apartment, the reinforcement bars were slowly buckling, I could see the bulge in the column. (It’s the society facing Matunga’s western railway station on Senapati Bapat Marg.) I had visitors and society people coming in almost every day to look at it. I still had butterflies in my stomach every night I went to bed. I had no choice because getting a place to live in Bombay, that too in the heart of the city, is a dream.
The point is: most societies are unable to do anything inspite of knowing things like this (I don’t know whether they did eventually fix that block or not), because the cost of repairs are very high and possibly [unintended] consequences may turn disastrous. And, it never rained this much then. Take your own guess after the heaviest rainfall this monsoon. I advised my friend, who lives in Dombivli, to have a check at the foundations of his apartment building, get some tests done (just to be on a safer side). Because, just when you think it’s safe, the soil will start yielding, especially if you have a relatively bad soil. Spend some money [pool it] if you need, get your apartments [esp high rise ones] checked if you’re unsure of the builder who built it.