Goregaon fire: Residents cannot return home as police continue probe

Mumbai: After more than 24 hours of the fire that erupted in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) Jai Bhavani building in Goregaon that killed seven and injured 62 people, the residents still await to return to their homes. While most residents have shifted to their relatives’ homes, around 40 to 50 people have been shifted to a temporary shelter set up in a nearby civic-run school.

“We set up the shelter immediately after the fire,” Rajesh Akre, assistant commissioner of the P South ward, said. On Saturday, after the fire brigade completed their operations, the residents were asked to stay put as the police were still conducting investigations. However, the residents were allowed to go in to collect their clothes and other necessary belongings.

Hira, a resident of the first floor, said that her whole house was burnt, and she seemed clueless about what would happen next. “Currently, I am at the school with my family and hope that we are allowed to move back in soon,” she added.

Rajesh Kamble, another resident, asked who would bear the cost of repairing the building and restoring the lights. “Some members are trying to meet the CM, and we hope that issues are resolved after the meeting,” he said.

Social worker Sanju Tusamad, assisting people in the area, said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has arranged for the stay and food for the residents but the affected people are also curious about when they can move back and what will happen next. “Some repair works are going on, and residents are moving between the building site and the school,” he added.

Alarmed by the devastating fire, chief minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday asked municipal commissioner I S Chahal to make a policy for having external iron staircases for buildings so that residents can escape in case of emergencies. He also announced a compensation of ₹50,000 to all the families.

Meanwhile, BMC’s disaster management department said that 52 people are still hospitalised, of which five remain critical.

The Level 2 fire in the ground plus seven-storey building erupted between 2am and 3am on Friday in one of the shops, which had stacks of old clothes, as per BMC officials. The fire then spread across the parking lot where rags, plywood and other inflammable materials were stored; it entered the meter cabin and thereon, spread to the first floor. Soon, all the other floors were engulfed with thick smoke.

The Goregaon police have registered an accidental death report in the matter. They are waiting for the report from the fire department for any further action if needed.

(With inputs from Payal Gwalani and Yogesh Naik)