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“We were all preparing to celebrate Bakri-Eid. Even in our wildest dreams, we never thought our preparations would go awry,” Jumana Mukadam, who lost her relatives in the Bhendi Bazar building crash, says in a choked voice.
Mukadam’s son’s in-laws were among those killed in the building collapse on Thursday.
“It never crossed our minds even for a moment that our relatives and neighbours would not be there to perform the custom of sacrificing goats,” said Mukadam as she struggled to come to terms with the loss of her dear ones in the tragedy.
Thirty-three people lost their lives in the crash.
“The tragedy befell on us when the family was preparing for Bakri Eid, celebrated by our (Bohra) community today. We never imagined that our families will be ripped apart a day before the most important day of our religion,” she said.
Mukadam said Umaima, her 26-year-old daughter-in-law, is still in a state of shock as she lost her elderly parents and has barely spoken since Thursday. Umaima’s brother was injured and is currently recuperating in Saifee Hospital.
A relative of another family, which lost all but two of its members -- a nine-year-old girl and her grandmother -- as the 117-year-old residential building collapsed said the child is yet to be told what had happened to her parents.
“It was a family of six. A couple lived there with their two daughters and the man’s parents. The man had just dropped his nine-year-old child to school and returned when the incident happened,” he said.
“The entire family, except the girl and her grandmother, died. The child is yet to be told her parents are no more,” he added.
A resident of Bhendi Bazar, which housed the ill-fated building, which was a part of the redevelopment project being carried out by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust, run by the Bohra community, claimed they had refused to vacate their premises hoping a better deal by the trust.
He resides in an old building adjacent to the ill-fated structure. His building, too, will be redeveloped by SBUT, which has undertaken a cluster development project in Bhendi Bazar in South Mumbai.
“We have been offered transit in camps located far away from our original homes. Since we have lived all our lives here, accustomed to the area, its people and the mosques around, it is difficult for us to vacate our premises,” he said.
“We wanted them (SBUT) to offer accommodation near our original homes,” he added.
Another man, living in a transit camp at Ghodapdev, around 4 km from Bhendi Bazar, said it was very difficult to live in the first few floors of the building where he currently resides, as it does not have proper ventilation.
“We were used to proper sunlight and ample ventilation in our old homes. But in our new home, we get none of that. There are frequent health issues that we have to face due to the change in our living styles,” he said.
Meanwhile, SBUT said it has shifted about 1,800 families, out of 3,200 affected by its project, in transit accommodations located at Anjirwadi, Ghodapdev and Sion.
An ex-landlord of Hussaini building, which collapsed on Thursday, said he had made several attempts to convince the tenants to shift to the transit facility.
“The building had showed signs of structural weakness with leaking roof. Being an ex-landlord of this building, I had made multiple attempts to convince them to accept SBUT’s offer and shift to the transit facility,” said Hatim Bootwala.
A spokesperson of SBUT said in 2011, state-run housing agency MHADA had issued notices, declaring the building dilapidated and unfit for living.
“Post that, SBUT had offered transit facility and shifted 50 per cent of the families while the remaining ones did not accept the offer and continued to live in the old building,” said the SBUT spokesperson.
Image: Fire brigade and NDRF personnel carry out the search and rescue operation following the collapse of building at Pakmodiya Street in south Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo