A two-storey building in Bhiwandi, located in Maharashtra’s Thane district, collapsed on Saturday afternoon, leaving eight people dead and ten others injured. The building, which housed godowns on the ground and first floors and four families in tenements on the top floor, crumbled into a pile of concrete at 1:45pm.
The incident triggered a massive search and rescue operation that lasted for more than 45 hours before officials at the site called it off just before noon on Monday. During the operation, rescuers worked tirelessly to look for survivors and retrieve bodies from the rubble.
According to officials, three bodies were retrieved on Saturday, three on Sunday, and two on Monday. The search and rescue operation involved a team of around 200 people, including members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the fire department, and local police.
The collapse of the building, located in Wardhaman Compound in Valpada in Mankoli, has raised questions about the safety of such structures in the area. Officials have said that an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the collapse.
Local residents have also expressed concern about the lack of action by authorities to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. Many have pointed out that illegal constructions and poor construction quality are major factors that contribute to such disasters.
This is not the first time that a building has collapsed in Bhiwandi. In 2020, a three-storey building had collapsed in the same area, leaving 20 people dead and several others injured.
The incident has once again highlighted the urgent need for better building regulations and stricter enforcement of safety standards in the area. It is essential that authorities take concrete steps to ensure that buildings are constructed and maintained in a manner that ensures the safety of residents.
The collapse of the building in Bhiwandi is a tragic reminder of the human cost of neglecting safety standards and ignoring warnings about the dangers of illegal constructions. It is time for authorities to take decisive action to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
