The Times of India 14.06.2013
BMC to demolish remaining portion of building tomorrow
MUMBAI: Residents of Mahim's Altaf Mansion, a portion of which collapsed on Monday night, will have to pay the BMC to demolish the remaining structure. Ten people had died in the crash.
The civic body plans to demolish the remaining portion of Altaf Mansion on Saturday. The estimated cost of the demolition is Rs12.5 lakh.
On Thursday, the BMC filed a complaint with the Mahim police. "We issued a letter to the Mahim police, asking them to carry out a simple investigation without levelling any charges. The police, too, have to take suo motu cognizance of the 10 deaths and it is up to them to file an FIR for criminal negligence," said additional municipal commissioner Mohan Adtani.
Structural consultant Shashank Mehendale will collect material from the site and send it to a laboratory for a chemical analysis. "The probable cause of the demolition is poor quality material used in the building," said Mehendale who will submit his initial report on the cause of the crash in three days.
"The laboratory report will be submitted in 10-15 days. I have asked officials to issue notices to the residents, the developer and the owner informing them that we will be collecting samples for our investigation," said Adtani. "Mehendale has informed us that prima facie, poor quality of cement and stainless steel used in the construction of the building caused the collapse. If it is proved that the cement and the stainless steel were of poor quality, then the BMC will file an FIR against developer and owner Aziz Bekal, RCC consultant NM Kanajwala and architect VP Parikh and Associates."
The BMC reiterated its stand that it had received no complaint from Altaf Mansion residents about illegal alterations. "We had received complaints from the residents but none pertained to illegal alterations. The first official complaint made by the building was on November 23, 2010, about a sewerage choke-up. On March 13, advocate Rizwan Merchant, who resided on the second-floor, complained about an increase in mosquito numbers due to an illegal shed at the rear of the building. The BMC had taken appropriate action on the two complaints."
The residents of Altaf Mansion have moved in with their relatives in Shivaji Park, Bandra and Jogeshwari. On Thursday, a prayer service was organized at Memon Hall near Mahim dargah in remembrance of the dead.
The estimated cost of the demolition is Rs12.5 lakh
Structural consultant Shashank Mehendale will collect material from the site and send it to a laboratory for testing
The probable cause of the demolition is poor quality material used in the building, said Mehendale
He will submit his initial report on the cause of the collapse in three days
The laboratory will submit its report in 10-15 days
