Mumbai families risk lives in crumbling buildings amidst soaring rents and monsoon threats
Mumbai’s crumbling buildings risk lives as residents refuse to leave due to high rents and limited affordable housing, despite government warnings
Among the swanky skyscrapers of India’s financial capital Mumbai, hundreds of dangerously dilapidated buildings facing demolition are crowded with families risking their lives rather than braving impossibly high rents.
When torrential monsoon rains lash the coastal city each year, some of the decrepit colonial-era buildings come crashing down – often with a heavy loss of life.
“It was like seeing a biscuit that crumbles after you put it in tea,” said office worker Vikram Kohli, recalling how he narrowly missed being killed when a four-storey building partially collapsed in July.
City authorities had red-flagged the century-old building in the megacity’s bustling Grant Road area for repairs three years ago.
The government issued a “warning notice for evacuation” in June – but residents ignored it.
“No one vacated the premises”, the state housing authority said.
When the building collapsed, one passer-by was killed, four were injured and the fire brigade had to rescue 13 people trapped inside.