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In the building collapse at Ghatkopar (east), the Mehta family lost their servant. But they have no one to blame.   

CRASHED: The structure of Shakuntala Bhavan in Ghatkopar collapsed yesterday. One person was crushed in the debris. PIC/RAJU SHELAR

Over the past eight years, the BMC had repeatedly cautioned Rajan Thakkar, the landlord of Shakuntala Bhavan to repair it, but he paid no heed to the notices. In the last two years, the Corporation also notified 26 tenants to vacate the building. In fact, they were also provided accommodation in a neighbourhood municipality school. However, most of the tenants did not bother to shift, according to BMC officials.

The Mehta family was among the others who continued to stay in the building despite repeated warnings. Last morning, when the building came crashing down, Dattaram Jadhav, the servant who worked with the Mehtas, lost his life. But the number could have easily been more.

"Dattaram was chatting with his friends till late night when I asked him to return to his home at Kalwa. But he decided to stay back and he was crushed in the debris when the building collapsed. I decided to sleep over at my son's place and hence escaped death," said Harshan Mehta, a tenant who occupied a flat on the first floor of the Shakuntala Bhavan.

In a similar incident, the Bhatt family of four also had a narrow escape when their adjoining house was crushed under the debris. They had also decided to stay at their relatives' place the night before.

It was reported after the collapse that Thakkar had absconded. The residents of the now collapsed Shakuntala Bhavan are demanding that the government intervene in the matter and give them tenant rights.

"We have been living here on the pagdi system for more than 40 years now. Where do we go," complained Bipin Bhatt, one of the displaced tenants. "We have been persuading the landlord to repair the building for a decade now. But he did not listen to us, nor did he allow us to make any repair. No prospective builders were permitted to redevelop the land either. All he wanted was for the building to fall so that it became easy for him to get the land vacated," he added.

"If the landlord doesn't get the building repaired, the court should let the residents make the required repairs so that we can live safely. As tenants we should have some rights," the residents said unanimously.

According to S Bargir, assistant municipal commissioner, the case regarding the landlord is with the magistrate court in Shinewadi, Dadar. 

The BMC had given similar notices to other buildings around that area and the buildings were repaired in time.