Hit by Mumbai Metro work, residents of Mahim building to relocate | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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Hit by Mumbai Metro work, residents of Mahim building to relocate

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByMehul R Thakkar and Tanushree Venkatraman
Nov 20, 2019 09:58 AM IST

On Sunday night, Meher Manzil in Mahim developed wide cracks after which the MMRC installed rods to support the structure. A week earlier, the MMRC had to relocate residents of the adjacent building, Laxmi Niwas, after the 60-year-old structure tilted owing to Metro construction.

A day after Hindustan Times reported that Meher Manzil in Mahim had developed cracks due to the ongoing construction at a Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 site, residents of the 80-year-old building have been promised compensation by Metro authorities so that they can temporarily relocate for 10 days starting Wednesday. The authorities will later decide whether the building needs repair or redevelopment. Meher Manzil is the second building in the same area to be affected by the Metro-3 construction.

A decision will be taken by December on whether Meher Manzil in Mahim could be repaired.(Satish Bate/HT Photo)
A decision will be taken by December on whether Meher Manzil in Mahim could be repaired.(Satish Bate/HT Photo)

A spokesperson for the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is executing Metro-3, said, “By way of an abundant precaution, package-4 has decided to evacuate 12 families in this building temporarily till the structural audit is done and a detailed assessment is made.” Package-4 includes the Siddhivinayak-Dadar-Shitladevi portion of the project.

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On Sunday night, Meher Manzil developed wide cracks after which the MMRC installed rods to support the structure. A week earlier, the MMRC had to relocate residents of the adjacent building, Laxmi Niwas, after the 60-year-old structure tilted owing to Metro construction.

Residents of Meher Manzil met with Shiv Sena leaders and Metro authorities on Monday evening and Tuesday. Sada Sarvankar, the local MLA from the Sena, said, “As per a private company’s audit report, both the buildings are beyond repair. We have asked the MMRC to redevelop both buildings and provide compensation to the residents as per redevelopment laws till the construction of the buildings is completed.”

According to the minutes of the meeting, which HT has seen, the residents have agreed to vacate Meher Manzil by Wednesday and negotiate rent terms after the 10-day observation period.

Shoba Shetty, who lives on the third floor of the building and attended the meeting, said, “I am worried about our safety as my flat has cracks. Even if we did not get compensation, we would have vacated the building. But I welcome the authorities’ decision to compensate us for a temporary period.”

Resident MS Khan said, “We are thankful that our local MLA and the MMRC are assisting us.”

Metro-3 is a 33.5 km fully underground corridor between Colaba and Seepz. The construction work, which involves excavation and drilling, has already caused damage in old buildings in South Mumbai.

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