‘When will Papa come home?’ Children wait as Pune's Moshi tragedy leaves families shattered

Hope slowly turned into despair outside the Moshi garbage depot in PimpriChinchwad on Thursday as anxious families continued to wait for their loved ones trapped beneath a massive garbage moundWith every passing hour the optimism of rescuers pulling out more survivors faded into grief after one worker died following his rescue While nine workers were rescued alive through the night a 33yearold worker succumbed after being pulled out in a critical condition on Thursday morning Around 12 others are still feared trapped as the rescue operation continues at the site33yearold accounts executive dies after being rescuedA 33yearold accounts executive Bhavesh Mohan Wani was brought out in a critical condition on Thursday morning and was declared dead at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial YCM Hospital said Dr Rajendra Wable dean of YCM HospitalAuthorities fear that around 12 workers remain trapped as one of the largest rescue operations in PimpriChinchwad continuesAccording to the PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporationrsquos Disaster Management Cell nine workers were rescued alive till late Wednesday night while one more worker was pulled out in a critical condition on Thursday morning Despite continuous efforts several workers are still believed to be buried beneath thousands of tonnes of garbage and collapsed concreteFamilies wait anxiously as hope fadesOutside the disaster site relatives of missing workers remained glued to the rescue operation waiting for any sign of their loved onesHolding her two young children close the wife of missing driver Sunny Mane broke down and repeatedly cried ldquoThe whole world is in front of me but where has my husband disappeared Since yesterday my eyes have been searching only for himrdquoMane a permanent driver at the facility for the past three years remains untraceable His sevenyearold son continues to wait for his father while his twoyearold son innocently keeps asking ldquoWhen will Papa come homerdquoThe agony is similar for the family of Mahesh Kumbhar a 32yearold HR executive from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar His brother Santosh reached Moshi immediately after receiving a midnight call from the company informing him that Mahesh was trapped inside the collapsed building The family continues to hope for a miracleNearby Sarika Kasbe broke down while appealing to rescuers to save her father Waman Kasbe who is also among those missing As the rescue operation stretched beyond 24 hours several relatives were seen anxiously watching the movement of heavy machinery hoping every stretcher emerging from the debris would bring good newsBhavesh Wani was going for lunch when disaster struckBhavesh Wani a resident of Rupinagar worked in the accounts department of the private company operating the WastetoEnergy facilityFamily members said Wani had messaged his parents shortly before the collapse informing them that he was going for lunch He was recovered from the debris on Thursday morning but succumbed before treatment could begin authorities saidThe accident occurred around 130 pm on Wednesday when days of incessant rainfall triggered a massive slide of accumulated garbage crushing the threestorey administrative building of the WastetoEnergy project located adjacent to the landfillOver 100 personnel involved in 25hourlong rescue operationA massive joint rescue operation involving around 100 personnel from the Indian Armyrsquos BEG under a Colonel 60 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force NDRF led by its Commandant the PimpriChinchwad Fire Brigade police personnel and other emergency agencies has continued round the clockSniffer dogs heavy earthmoving machinery specialised cutting equipment and oxygen support systems are being used to reach workers trapped beneath the debrisSenior civic officials said the rescue operation may continue for another 12 to 15 hours depending on the stability of the debris and access to the collapsed structurePCMC Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi and senior officials are supervising the operation at the site while State Minister Girish Mahajan reviewed the rescue efforts and assured families that every possible resource has been deployed to save those still trappedMoshi landfillrsquos growing capacity concernsThe Moshi garbage depot spread across 81 acres at Adarshnagar has served as the PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporationrsquos PCMC sole landfill since 1991The site also houses the cityrsquos WastetoEnergy plant operated by a private contractor where municipal waste is processed to generate electricity The threestorey administrative building that collapsed was located immediately adjacent to the towering garbage moundThe depot has long exceeded its intended capacity after receiving the cityrsquos waste continuously for more than 35 years Daily waste generation in PimpriChinchwad has increased from 832 tonnes in 2017 to nearly 1579 tonnes at present while the landfill area has remained unchangedAs a result massive garbage hills have accumulated over the yearsOfficials said days of incessant rainfall destabilised one of these towering garbage mounds triggering a landslide that buried the administrative building around 130 pm on Wednesday trapping workers insideThe incident has renewed concerns over the exhausted capacity of the landfill the increasing height of garbage heaps and the location of key office infrastructure next to the unstable waste mound