Mumbai: Displaced Chira Bazar residents await rehabilitation

A portion of the collapsed building. Pic/Ashish Raje

Nearly a week after the partial collapse of a residential building in Chira Bazar, displaced families continue to grapple with uncertainty as they wait for the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to shift them into official transit accommodation.

For the families, the ordeal did not end with the collapse - some are putting up in cramped apartments of relatives, while others have been given temporary refuge by neighbours in the area. "It is humiliating to knock on doors and request a place to sleep, but we have no other option until MHADA provides us with a proper transit home," said Damayanti Rathod, 70, who sustained hairline fractures on her hand.

MHADA says it has 50 homes ready at Powai, but the residents are reluctant to move there. "They told us that many of their belongings still lie unsafe in the collapsed building and it will also be inconvenient for them to go for work and school/college. We should be able to accommodate them in a nearby transit facility in South Mumbai by Monday," said Vishal Biradar, executive engineer on the case.