The Make in India loss no one's discussing

The numbers say it all The Maharashtra government will be signing investment deals worth Rs 465 lakh crores following the Make In India week But for the several subcontractors who had pitched in with essential equipment to ensure that the stage on which the likes of Amitabh Bachchan stood and Hema Malini danced or the smoke cloud that gave their appearance a dreamy twist last Sundayrsquos event may as well have sounded their death knell So paltry is the compensation they have received or hope to receiveOne of Hussainrsquos two hydraulic cranes at Girgaum Chowpatty whose estimated total value is between Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore has been burnt beyond repair PicsRane AshishThe story of the loss caused by the fire on the night of February 14 is best told by the two hydraulic cranes that at least till Saturday were still standing at Girgaum Chowpatty were the event was held The two cranes with an estimated total value of between Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore have been burnt so badly that towing them away is going to be quite difficultLeft to right Sayed Akbar Hussainrsquos son Shahazad Hussain supervisor Sabhajee Yadav Sayed Akbar Hussain proprietor of MS Super Crane crane operator Sanjay Gupta and mechanic Mohammed YusufThe charred cranes are a source of worry for Sayed Akbar Hussain the 58yearold proprietor of MS Super Crane who supplied them to Mastan Crane Services which had been given the contract by Wizcraft Hussain whose office is at Wadala Truck Terminal said ldquoAs per the verbal agreement with Mastan the hydraulic cranes were to be put in service at Girgaum Chowpatty from February 8 to February 15 where as the smaller crane was required only from February 10rdquo Hussain who has been supplying cranes for hire for construction projects and other loading and unloading work for since 1995 added that a daily rent of Rs 14000 per crane was agreed upon and a total of Rs 266 lakh was expected from the dealMohammed Moin an employee of Sayed Akbar Hussain is currently stationed at Girgaum Chowpatty where the two cranes will remain till Hussain dredges up money to have them moved to the Wadala Truck Terminal PicsRane AshishldquoThis was the first time we were entering in a deal with Mastan Crane and as the cranes were standing unused we decided to put them in use for such a major eventrdquo he added The hydraulic cranes were used for holding up the decorative lights on the stage from either sideSabhajeet Yadav supervisor for Hussainrsquos firmThe companyrsquos supervisor Sabhajeet Yadav said that Matsan Cranes was to pay 50 per cent of the total amount soon after the cranes reached Chowpatty on February 8 However no token payment was made ldquoRepresentative from Mastan said theyrsquod give the initial 50 per cent payment through cheque on February 14 But the stage was engulfed in fire and no cheque was receivedrdquo he addedThe cranes which are most likely damaged beyond repair were not insured ldquoWe cannot afford first party insurance as the premium is almost a 100 percent more than what the third party would have to pay for insurance Also since business has been slack for the last few years we have been rendered to a handtomouth existencerdquoLoss of a livingHussain bought one of the two hydraulic cranes in 1999 and the other in 2011 he is still repaying the loan on the second one with a monthly EMI of Rs 1 lakh This in addition to the office rent staff salaries maintenance of other cranes plus taking care of his family of six make him worry even more about the loss The smaller cranes of which he has only three only fetch him anywhere around R500 per hour or R2000 per day day The hydraulic cranes were his main stay with a daily rent of Rs 20000ldquoOur first priority is to bring them from Chowpatty to the Wadala Truck Terminal For this alone we have to shell out nearly Rs 5 lakh The cost of repairs if possible will run into another few lakhsrdquo said HussainHussain said the set designers had used the lower body of the cranes as support for the wooden planks used as stairs leading to the stage The stairs were covered with cloth After it started the fire spread to the wooden stairs and led to the burning of 14 tyres of both cranes and also its engine roomsHussain added that both cranes had nearly 1500 litres each of hydraulic oil and 400 litres of diesel each in their tanks It is not clear if any of these tanks also burstCrane operator Sanjay Gupta who was at the spot and witnessed the fire said ldquoI saw the crane burning I requested the police to allow me to rush to the crane and inform the fire officials about the diesel and oil in it but was shooed away By the time the fire was doused the damage was donerdquoOn Friday said Hussain Mastan Crane visited his office and gave them six small tyres for the crane valued at a total of Rs 130500 ldquoThey gave us cash of Rs 187000 saying that they could only help us with this and for any further compensation we should directly speak to Wizcraft They want us to remove the crane from the location at the earliest To do that too I have to arrange for fundsrdquoMs Virtual Vision Private Limited is the Goregaon based company that was hired as the main supplier for technical support They in turn hired other small subcontractors to supply show lighting video LED screen sound trussing generatorpower distribution and crane installation Most of this equipments has been charred beyond repairA senior official Virtual Vision said ldquoWe have already put forward the list of subcontractors and extent of damages to event organizers Ms Wizcraft which has assured us that it will look into the samerdquo When asked if the subcontractors and their equipment are fully insured for damages officials said ldquoIt is for the subcontractors to decide and take insurance coverage for their respective equipments We have no role to play in thatrdquo He added ldquoYou should contact Wizcraft for all clarificationsrdquo before disconnecting the callWho supplied whatgtgt Ms Virtual Vision Pvt Ltd Goregaon W Main Supplier Lighting LED display video playback system trussing system etcgtgt Ms Video Wall India sub contractor Goregaon E Supplied LED display on stage and in audience areagtgt Ms Reliance Media works Prime Focus Goregaon E Supplied Lighting inventory Super sounds and lightsgtgt Ms Hari Om Lights Grant Road Supplied Lighting inventorygtgt Ms Star DimensionAndheri Supplied Smoke machinegtgt Ms Vishal Light and SoundLalbaug Supplied Circular trussing systemgtgt Ms Sound and light professional Kandivali W Supplied Sound and main trussing system for the eventgtgt Ms Mastan crane services mdash Goregaon E Supplied Cranes for the eventgtgt Ms Laser Tech Entertainment Private Limited Bangalore Supplied Laser system for the eventgtgt Ms Rinsha Enterprises Supplied Generators and power distributions for lighting video LED screen Sound Trussing cranes etcTotal Cranes Deployed 8gtgt Ms Mastan Crane services 1gtgt Ms Deepak Crane services 1gtgt Ms Jyotirling Crane services 1gtgt Ms Om Durga Crane services 1gtgt Ms Subhan Crane services 1gtgt Ms Super Crane services 3gtgt It is learnt that Ms Deepak Crane was slightly damaged all cranes moved out of the venue but Ms Super Crane service 2 hydraulic cranes are burnt and still stranded at Chowpatty