Mumbai Hoarding Collapse: Families Face Difficult Future

Mumbai: Ghatkopar’s ill-fated hoarding – which spanned 17,040 sqft and had secured a place in the Limca Book of Records as the largest of its kind – became cause of despair for several families as it killed their sole breadwinners. While the BMC has released a list of victims, the identities of three deceased men were yet to be confirmed at the time of going to press. One of the victims was 24- year-old Bharat Rathod, who had gone to the pump to refuel his vehicle. A resident of the Chambal Road area in Ghatkopar West, Rathod worked as a medicines delivery executive. On the fateful day, he went to the pump for routine refuelling unbeknownst that death awaited him.

The hoarding succumbed to the force of winds, fatally striking Rathod. His demise has left his family shattered as he was the sole breadwinner, supporting his brother and ailing father, who has been recently discharged from Rajawadi Hospital. Similar is the tragic story of Mohammad Akram's family. The 48-year-old rickshaw driver from Ghatkopar's Kamraj Nagar eked out a livelihood for four brothers and a daughter, who now face an uncertain future.

Akram's brothers have sought aid from the government for his widow. Like Rathod, Basheer Ahmad Asik Ali Shaikh, a 52-yearold taxi driver residing in Worli, had visited the pump in Chheda Nagar to refuel his taxi. Shaikh is survived by a 22-year-old daughter. He was in the midst of preparing for her marriage and was saving . Sachin Rajesh Yadav also met a fatal fate. The 23-yearold was an employee at the pump and became the victim of the hoarding collapse just within 10 minutes of reporting for work. A resident of Sion Koliwada, Yadav had just got married and welcomed a baby boy four months ago.

He had joined the petrol pump a year-and-ahalf ago. Purnesh Balkrishna Jadhav, a 50-year-old resident of the Balkum area in Thane and a tourist car driver, was also killed when he came to refuel his vehicle. He leaves behind a family comprising his wife, a homemaker, and two sons currently pursuing their studies. Like many other affected families, his kin were dependent on him. Satish Singh, a 52-year-old taxi driver hailing from Nalasopara, had come to the pump after dropping a fare at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.

His death has left his three sons and a daughter shocked and worried about their future. The 44-year-old Dinesh Jaiswar lived just across the Eastern Express Highway where the tragedy struck. He resided in a rental accommodation in Kamraj Nagar along with his wife and two children. A rickshaw driver by profession, Jaiswar had run daily errands on the fateful day and later informed his son that he was going to the petrol pump for CNG refilling. However, he never returned. Despite a frantic search, his family was unable to locate him until they learnt that his body was at Rajawadi Hospital. His kin are now seeking justice against those responsible for Jaiwar's death as well as financial assistance