In a bizarre incident on Sunday morning, a car was swallowed up by a sinkhole in Ghatkopar. A portion of the reinforced cement concrete (RCC) slab, on which residents of Ram Nivas Society at Cama Lane park their vehicles, caved in, engulfing a car and this startling sight was captured by a resident on video and became the talk of the town.
A portion of the parking area in the compound of Ram Nivas Society gave way around 9am on Sunday. According to residents, the portion that caved in was a reclaimed well. The society had covered half the well with RCC, so that the residents of the society could use it as a parking space. But after being pounded by incessant rains for the last few days, a portion of the slab gave way, swallowing the black four-wheeler parked above. The car, apparently a hatchback, was the only one to be swallowed up; two other vehicles parked near it were not affected.
Traffic police responded to the call and local police too reached the spot. No casualty was reported in the incident, local police said.
According to a senior traffic official who reached the spot, the incident came to light as residents began shouting and raising an alarm as they saw the slab give way. The official said that the society, located on Cama Lane, had a 100-year-old well in its verandah (compound), which was covered using reinforced cement concrete.
Having noticed that the car’s taillights were switched on, many wondered if there was anybody inside the vehicle when it went down the sinkhole. But luckily, such was not the case. Nobody was injured in the incident, police confirmed.
“Luckily, nobody was injured in the incident. There is a well under the slab, which was covered to create parking space. The incident that occurred was due to land subsidence following rain,” said an inspector from the Ghatkopar police station.
The car, belonging to one Kiran Doshi, will be fished out by crane, police officials informed. Police said that since nobody was inside the car or near the caved-in portion, a major tragedy was averted.
The video of the car sinking and disappearing within seconds went viral on social media on Sunday, with netizens immediately blaming the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and its ‘faulty’ monsoon preparations. This prompted the Mumbai civic body to issue an official statement, distancing itself from the episode, stating it had occurred on private premises.
The BMC also put out a clarification through its official Twitter handle that this was private property owned by the society and the civic body had nothing to do with it. “After receiving the information about the incident, water pumping work is being coordinated by the concerned departmental office of the corporation as relief work. The concerned society has been informed to take necessary measures for safety in this place immediately,” the BMC tweeted.
The Mumbai civic body also confirmed that there were no casualties were reported in the incident. “Fortunately, no one was killed or injured in the incident as no one was in the car,” the BMC further stated.
