MUMBAI, January 29: Even as the Gagan Tara building at Pestom Sagar in Chembur tethers towards an imminent collapse, residents have begun shifting into the Naidu Colony transit camp at Pant Nagar, Ghatkopar.Eighteen middle-class families of this three-storeyed structure were virtually brought on the streets early Saturday morning when the 35-year old building began crumbling and its rear portion sank by a foot. The cause has yet not been ascertained.
The neighbourhood is agog with deliberations and fear. Residents worry if it is a foreboding in any form. Reclaimed Pestom Sagar was once a marshy land.
Municipal authorities who visited the site have declared the building unsafe and the place has been cordoned off. Cracks of various shapes and sizes run across the facade and window-panes, while a huge hollow reveals the interior of the ground-floor apartment's kitchen. The damage is worse still inside, say residents.
"Several engineers have been coming to inspect the structure. They have not pinpointedthe cause. A report will be submitted before the demolition is carried out," said secretary G K Bijlani, denying structural changes could have triggered the damage.Residents said that although local politicians were quick to arrive and offer lip-service, there has been no help forthcoming. "Re-construction will be a daunting task and we hope the government will be considerate to us. We do not know if we will ever return here soon," rued another elderly resident M R Krishnan. Only last year, the society undertook repair works involving exterior plastering. Pondering over his plight is Abhishek Giriraj, a standard XII student of K J Somaiya college at Vidyavihar. The tragedy could not have occurred at a worse time. Likewise, there are a few students scheduled to appear for their annual examinations. Then, there are those who have not resumed duty since that fateful day.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
