Thane: The woes of the residents of one of Thane's oldest 10-storeyed housing societies, Paradise Heights just don’t seem to end.
The fire safety system in the tower installed by the builder in the year 1994 still does not function as the residents have not paid the charges required for its operation. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) fire station officials have served two notices to the managing committee of Paradise Heights and are still waiting for the reply from the committee members.
Fire Station Officer of Jawahar Baug fire station Sandeep Kadam said, “We have issued two notices to the managing committee of Thane’s oldest tower Paradise Heights and asked them to reply but they haven't replied yet. We will be giving the report to TMC’s Chief Fire Officer and thereafter if in 45 days, the committee does not reply then we will initiate action against the society. As of now no fine has been imposed on the society.”
Some residents do not pay maintenance bills regularly, this has led to the resignation of some of the committee members.
Shashi Agarwal, founder of NGO Madat Samajik Sanstha and a former managing committee president said, “The problem in this particular society is that people bought the flats here for a steep price and spent lots of money on the interiors, but are reluctant to pay regular maintenance charges. I have written several complaint letters to the TMC officials but to no avail. The fire safety officers came just once and checked the fire safety system. In case a fire breaks out in the building, the lives of 200 residents will be at risk.”
“I don't know how long it will take to get all the proper facilities. People have been facing the problem for the last 30 years, I have also written a letter about it to both the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.” Agarwal added.
Narendra Sikariya Agarwal, secretary of the society Paradise Heights said, “I have taken up the work of plastering, plumbing and painting on a priority basis as it hadn’t been done for the last 25. The TMC was about to declare it a ‘dangerous building’ in the year 2021. When we requested them not to do so, they asked us to get the structural audit of the building done. We got it done from the engineer Ajay Mallaya, then the TMC kept us in 'B Grade'. We have received the notice from the TMC fire department. Unless the residents co-operate, find solutions and collect money for overall development of the building along with the fire safety system, nothing can be done. Nothing can be done if some members just complain to the TMC and refuse to cooperate.”
A member said on the condition of anonymity, “The building is the oldest in Thane but has not had a fire safety system for the last 25 years only due to the attitude of a few residents. There are two commercial banks – Union Bank of India and Central Bank – in this tower and many people come for the banking purpose. If something untoward happens in this building, many lives will be at risk. Most of the people residing here are senior citizens. All the members should come together and find a solution instead of blaming each other.”
