The pillars of the 'C' wing of Zoha Apartment, an 8-storeyed building located at Almas Colony in Mumbra, developed cracks on Sunday, leading to a concerning situation. The building, which is 15-20 years old, was in a dangerous condition. The regional disaster management cell (RDMC) and the fire brigade personnel of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) promptly responded to the situation and successfully evacuated around 120 people from the building.
Yasin Tadvi, the RDMC chief in Thane, stated that they received information about the cracks in the building's pillars at approximately 10 am on Sunday. In response, the disaster management cell team, accompanied by fire brigade personnel, quickly arrived at the scene with one pick-up vehicle and one jeep vehicle. Officials from the TMC's assistant commissioner of Mumbra ward committee, executive engineer of General Works department of Diwa ward committee, junior engineer of Diwa ward committee, and the encroachment department staff were also present during the operation. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.
The Zoha Apartment comprises 45 flats, out of which 10 were already found locked. The residents from the remaining 35 flats were safely evacuated and managed to find alternative accommodation arrangements on their own. Although the building was 20 years old, it was not previously listed as a dangerous structure in the city. As a precautionary measure, both power and water supply to the building were disconnected.
It was discovered that each floor of the building housed five flats, and there were three mobile towers on the terrace – one each of Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone. The public works department officials instructed the building office bearers to remove all three towers.
Tadvi confirmed that the building has been completely evacuated under the supervision of the TMC, and all the rooms have been sealed. Presently, all the residents have arranged to stay with their relatives. The complaint about the incident has been reported to the concerned department, and further actions will be taken accordingly.
