Mumbai News: MHADA Begins Immediate Repairs After Botawala Building Terrace Collapse At Horniman Circle In Fort, Road Cordoned Off

Mumbai: An immediate repair work has been started by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) while the road around the building, has been closed when a small portion of terrace of the Botawala building at Horniman Circle in Fort collapsed on Monday. The ground-plus-three-storey building houses 40 commercial and one resident. The building has been evacuated after the incident.

A portion of the terrace of the Botawala building suddenly collapsed on Monday afternoon at 2 pm, causing panic among the occupants. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but the incident has raised concerns about the repairs of heritage structures.

Local tenants mentioned that MHADA officials had visited the building on the same day and evacuated all tenants. Following the collapse, the road surrounding the building, primarily used for parking, has now been cordoned off for safety measures.

A few laborers were carrying out repair work at the site on Friday. Vaishali Gadpale, Chief Public Relations Officer, and Milind Shambharkar, Chief Officer of the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board, MHADA, was not available for comment.

According to sources from the BMC, there is a provision for Heritage Transferable Development Rights (TDR), which can be sold by the owner or occupier of an old building. The funds generated from this can be used for the maintenance and restoration of the building.