 "Mumbai Ghatkopar hoarding collapse")
At least 14 people were killed and 74 injured after a 100-feet-tall illegal billboard fell in Mumbai's Ghatkopar during a dust storm and rain on Monday evening. According to civic officials, the billboard, which was illegal, uprooted and fell on a petrol pump at the Cheddanagar Junction in Ghatkopar.
A 30-second video of the incident surfaced, showing the massive billboard falling over the petrol pump area, leaving several people trapped.
Following the incident, the Mumbai police have filed a case against the ad agency owner and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. According to officials, Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of M/s Ego Media Private Limited, has been booked in the incident.
Mumbai hoarding collapse latest updates:
1. Mumbai Police Commissioner assures stringent action
Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar assured stringent action in the matter. In a post on his official X handle on Monday, Phansalkar said, "Heartfelt condolences to families who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate mishap at Ghatkopar. The Mumbai Police team is on the spot in the rescue operation. We assure citizens that stringent legal action will be taken against those responsible for this mishap."
2. CM Eknath Shinde assures action
Following the incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the site, assuring action in the matter and ordered a structural audit of all hoardings in Mumbai. "The hoardings, if found illegal and dangerous, would be removed immediately," he said. "It is a very unfortunate incident. The government will probe it, and the people responsible will face action." He also announced an aid of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each person killed in the incident.
3. Injured persons receiving treatment
The injured persons are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in the city, including Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, civic-run HBT hospital, Vikhroli's Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Hospital, and Kalwa's Prakruti Hospital. According to the officials, the rescue operation is expected to continue till Tuesday evening.
4. BMC-Railways blame each other
In the wake of the controversy, a blame game has erupted between the Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and the Indian Railways over the land ownership of the accident site.
Declaring the hoarding as "illegal," the BMC said that it had not approved the hoarding. "It was an illegal hoarding. The location where the incident occurred has four hoardings set up on railway land, and one of them has collapsed," BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said.
5. BMC to file case against railways
"BMC will file a complaint against the Railways and advertising company Ego Media in the matter of the hoarding falling incident in Ghatkopar, which injured at least 35 people. The complaint will be filed for registering an FIR under the Disaster Management Act," a BMC spokesperson said.
6. Railways deny ownership of land
In response, the Railways denied ownership of the land and maintained that it had nothing to do with the incident. "This hoarding is not on Railway land and it is not in any way related to Indian Railways," it said on X.
7. Notice issued to ad agency
Following the incident, the BMC issued a notice to an advertisement agency, asking it to remove the remaining three hoardings near the spot immediately, officials said.
8. Unseasonal rains cause additional damage
The unseasonal rains in Mumbai, accompanied by a massive dust storm, also resulted in the collapse of an under-construction metal parking tower in the Wadala area. Three people were injured in the incident, and about eight to ten vehicles parked on the roadside were also damaged. An official said an inquiry is being conducted, and appropriate legal action will be taken.
