A 53-year-old man died and his 48-year-old wife was injured after a ground-plus-two-storeyed Koshe Building collapsed in Rambaugh, Kalyan (W) on Wednesday morning. The incident occurred at around 6am when the couple were sleeping.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) fire team rushed to the spot with an emergency van, three fire vehicles and two ambulances to begin the rescue operation. As only one family stayed in the building that was declared dangerous, the couple was pulled out from the debris within an hour after the incident.
The deceased, Suryabhan Kakad, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital while his wife, Usha Kakad, survived but was injured. Kakad worked as a contractor for KDMC. He was, however, jobless in recent times.
Namdeo Chaudhari, chief fire officer, KDMC, said, “The couple was stuck under the debris. We rescued them and admitted them to Rukminibai Civic Hospital. The building was in a congested area and reaching there took time. Also, a common staircase connecting the building with an adjoining building had also collapsed.”
The building is around 25-year-old, claimed the KDMC officials, and was also listed as dangerous by the civic body. Notices were served to the residents a few years ago asking them to vacate. Nobody resided on the ground and first floor of the building. The Kakad family lived on the second floor.
“The building is around 25 years old and we had warned the residents asking to vacate the building. Following this incident, we have once again asked the residents to carry out the audits of those buildings that are more than 30 years old,” said Suhas Gupte, assistant commissioner, KDMC.
Despite being the sole family residing in the fateful building, the Kakads also had an alternate abode in the same area, where the couple’s son Ganesh, 26, usually slept. On Tuesday, their two daughters also accompanied their brother and thus all three had a narrow escape.
Kakad’s family friend, Amol Patekar, 44, said, “The family took an alternate room on rent in the nearby area. Ganesh used to sleep there at night. On Tuesday, Kakad’s two daughters also went with him to sleep there and were luckily saved. Ganesh is pursuing his education while their daughters are working.”
An inconsolable Ganesh was not in a state to speak. He merely expressed, “I was asleep when I got to know about the collapse and rushed to the spot. Later I found out that my mother and father were stuck and taken to hospital.”
Ganesh added that his family had not received any letter from the civic body to vacate the building. “We have not received any such notice asking to vacate the house. If we had received it, we would have vacated. All the claims by the civic body are false.”
