Mumbai Civic Body Office's Roof Collapses. Building Was Inaugurated 6 Months Ago

A section of the false ceiling collapsed at one of the newly opened offices of Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), this morning, with a few employees narrowly escaping.

The roof collapsed just outside the cabin of the assistant commissioner, Rupali Kadam, at the BMC's K/North Ward office in Jogeshwari.

Several cabins at the office, which was inaugurated about six months ago, also witnessed water leakage after rain.

Employees raised concerns about the quality of construction materials, alleging poor-quality work in the new building. They demanded that the administration inspect the entire office and undertake immediate repairs, insisting that the work be of high quality this time to ensure there is no threat to staff safety in the future.

The incident comes at a time when the BMC -- Asia's richest civic body -- is facing intense scrutiny over its handling of monsoon rain.

Since the onset of the monsoon on June 23, Mumbai, known as the financial capital of India, has seen severe waterlogging in key areas. The city also recorded at least three fatalities due to tree-fall incidents.

An 11-year-old student was killed when a tree fell on a moving school bus in suburban Chembur on June 30. On July 4, an 18-year-old man died after a tree branch fell on his head while he was riding a motorcycle with friends in Aarey Colony during heavy rain. A 63-year-old man died after a tree fell on a shop in Kurla (West) on July 5.

On July 2, a 55-year-old man was killed after being swept in a manhole amid heavy rain. The manhole cover had been left open due to ongoing maintenance work being carried out by a private contractor, officials said.

This week, the Bombay High Court had rebuked the BMC for its failure to secure open manholes, questioning why the civic body consistently waits for fatalities before taking preventative steps.

A bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata on July 6 dismissed the BMC's progress reports and affidavits claiming action taken on the issue of open manholes as "good for nothing and merely an eyewash".

The BMC, in an affidavit, informed the court that soon after the incident, the civic body chief held a meeting and ordered the suspension of four officials in charge of the area where the tragedy occurred.

The court, however, slammed the BMC, stating that human lives are lost due to the negligence of civic officials.

"What you (BMC) have done after such an incident is not important. What you do to prevent such untoward incidents is what matters. Life is precious. Human lives are of paramount importance," the court remarked.