Mumbai dust storm: A scary trailer of coming horror show

In just 60 minutes of unexpected rain and a dust storm that hit the city on Monday eight people were left dead and 74 were injured after a 120by120foot illegal hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump on the Eastern Express Highway at Ramabai Nagar in Ghatkopar Operations to rescue about 100 people trapped beneath debris were ongoing at press time In Wadala two persons were injured after a scaffolding came tumbling down and rail Metro and air services were disrupted prompting politicians to cancel ralliesA hawker who was injured in a tree fall at Kapad Bazar Mahim rescued by the fire brigade PicAshish RajeEight died and 74 were injured after a 120by120foot illegal hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump on the Eastern Express Highway at Ramabai Nagar in Ghatkopar around 415 pm on Monday while the city witnessed sudden showers and a dust storm Operations to rescue about 100 people trapped beneath debris were ongoing at press time The incident spurred the BMC into fining the agency concerned R613 crore and seeking the removal of seven other illegal billboards in the N wardChief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the spot around 8 pm Addressing the media he said ldquoA case of culpable homicide will be registered against the persons responsible for the tragedy Besides I have instructed BMC to do a special audit of all hoardings and remove all the illegal ones immediatelyrdquo He added that rescue operations were going on and the families of the deceased would receive Rs 5 lakh each from the chief ministerrsquos relief fund All the injured persons will receive free treatmentTraumatic incidentThe petrol pump usually caters to autorickshaw drivers At the time of the collapse there was a long line of vehicles was present at the site Though passersby rushed to the spot to rescue those trapped under the iron structure the task proved Herculean The Mumbai Fire Brigade reached the spot around half an hour after the collapse and declared it a level III incident at 630 pm The rescue operation involved 12 fire engines and a van The injured were sent to Rajawadi Hospital and Jogeshwari trauma centreFaran Khan 25 a survivor said ldquoI had taken shelter in the petrol pump as it was raining We were not even aware that such a thing could happen Luckily I did not get trapped like others This is a major failure on the part of the civic body which is supposed to prevent dangerous structures from harming citizensrdquo Shehnawaz Khan 18 who sustained minor injuries said ldquoThe sudden shower prompted me to take shelter at the petrol pump After observing the hoarding tilting in my direction I ran for it Many unfortunately could not escape in the nick of timerdquoTejas Sale 30 a driver said ldquoI live five minutes away from the pump and had stopped to fill up on petrol As soon as I reached home there was a loud noise and soon there was news flashing on TVrdquo He said the rain had just started and twowheeler drivers had taken shelter near the petrol pump Salim Pathan an RTI activist said he had complained to the BMC and railway police a year ago about the potential tragedy due to the hoarding ldquoThere was no response from the railway police The BMC forwarded it to railway police and still there was no replyrdquo he saidRescuers at the petrol pump at Ramabai Nagar in Ghatkopar East where the gigantic hoarding collapsed trapping scores of people on Monday PicsSameer MarkandelsquoNo clarityrsquoA person at the Jogeshwari trauma centre said ldquoIt is very chaotic here I was unable to find my brother who was at the petrol pump I donrsquot know whether hersquos still under the hoarding We are not even being updated about the names of the rescued individuals How are we supposed to know if someone is brought here or taken to some other hospital My brother is the sole breadwinner of the familyAnother relative stated ldquoI am devastated Irsquom not sure if the hoarding was illegal but the civic body should do a premonsoon survey to identify risky hoardings If this is the situation now how can we trust the civic body to ensure that our monsoons will be hasslefree Hoardings should be surveyed like old buildings arerdquo ldquoIf the hoarding was illegal and the BMC knew about it why was no action taken to remove it Were they waiting for such an incident to happenrdquo the relative added According to a tender issued the land where the hoarding was erected belongs to the Government Railway Police GRPThe scaffolding that collapsed at 4 pm at Barkat Ali Naka in Wadala East on Monday PicShadab Khanmidday called Ravindra Sishve commissioner of police GRP to confirm whether the hoarding was illegal He replied ldquoThe tender is an old one and if the hoarding is erected it will be legal according to the tender I am not exactly sure of its legality I am at the spotrdquo Pradnya Saravade DGP Maharashtra GRP confirmed that the land belongs to GRP She stated ldquoWe will be initiating an inquiry soon to determine the legality of the hoarding Meanwhile our efforts right now are to remove as many individuals trapped under the hoarding to minimise casualties We will be soon initiating the inquiryrdquo