Mumbai: In GTB colony, 100 families court death daily

A shudder runs down the spine of the residents of GTB Nagarrsquos Punjabi Colony every time they come across the news of a building collapse like the one at Borivli last week For nearly 100 families who live in the decrepit structures life is fraught with risks as they canrsquot afford to rent a flat elsewhere The colony has 1200 apartments and most occupants have moved out fearing for their livesConstructed between 1958 and 1962 to house refugees from the Punjab province in Pakistan the colony with its 25 fourstorey structures was once a bustling neighbourhood As the buildings began to develop cracks after years of neglect attempts to redevelop them did not move ahead for some reason or the other This further deteriorated the condition of the buildingsPunjabi Colony in GTB Nagar came up between 1958 and 1962 PicsAshish RajeThe Punjab Colony is back in focus after five families of Geetanjali building in Borivli escaped in the nick of time before the structures disintegrated on August 19 The city has more than 350 dangerous buildings BMC disconnected water and power supply to Punjabi Colony in 2020Also Read APP Trap Why Googlersquos big ban drive is uselessSuman Kochad who lives on the third floor of building number 5 says her husband Ashok is paralysed ldquoHe is bedridden for the past three years Our daughter got married a few years ago Now we donrsquot have any income source and cannot afford to give a rent of R15000R20000 We are so worried but we canrsquot leave this placerdquo said SumanFilth and overflowing drains at building no5Vegetable milk and grocery vendors are reluctant to enter the buildings with their exposed beams and plants sprouting from crevices on the rainfed crumbling walls ldquoI have a bag tied to a long rope I drop it down to collect essentials from the vendorsrdquoWith redevelopment talks resuming with MHADA the residents have now taken it upon themselves to pull down the buildings as itrsquos an expensive affair if the BMC demolishes the dwelling units So far two buildings have been pulled downHarminder Singh has been living in building no 7 since childhoodHarminder Singh lives with his wife and daughter in building number 7 ldquoOur building is next but we are still staying here My health is poor and Irsquom financially stressedrdquo said Harminder who has lived in the house since childhood ldquoAll our neighbours have already left No one wants to live in such conditions but authorities have to think before asking us to leave How will we pay the rentrdquoMany like Harminder have demanded immediate rent or alternative accommodationSuman Kochad with her paralysed husband at their 3rdfloor home in building no 5Inderpal Bagi moved to Indore two years after BMC issued a notice to Punjabi Colony citing the buildingsrsquo poor health ldquoThe redevelopment of the structures still hangs fire Though our local leader helped us there isnrsquot any concrete solution yet It is easy for authorities to send notices asking people to vacate but there are a few who cannot afford rental accommodation They are still living without electricity and water and fearing for their livesrdquoPushkar Rawat who now lives in Navi Mumbai on rent said the pressure of vacating the premises has been increasing every day But no one understands the gravity of the situation What about those who donrsquot have the capacity to pay rentrdquoRedevelopment hopesGajanan Bellale assistant commissioner of Fnorth ward said they started demolition of one building three months ago but the residents approached the BombayHigh Court on the grounds that they would get the structures pulled down ldquoWe didnrsquot have any objection and the court directed the residents to start demolition on June 30 Another building was demolished last week But if the residents are not ready to demolish the buildings in time then we have to inform the court about the statusrdquo said BellaleRavi Raja a former corporator from the area who has tried to help the residents said ldquoThe BMC is not the landowner and thatrsquos why they cannot give an alternative accommodation Few developers came forward for redevelopment but nothing was finalised Now there are talks between MHADA and residents I hope it will resolve the longpending issuerdquoSakpal Duggal another resident said they had talks with MHADA on Wednesday and most of the residents are satisfied with the planmdashhomes with 618 sq ft area against the present 365 sq ft ldquoWe need rent immediately and a timebound redevelopment plan There should be one window to resolve all the technical issues We fear that once we leave we wonrsquot get our homes backrdquo25Total no of buildings in the colony