A Byculla MLA has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking compensation for victims of the Bandra slum collapse.
A Byculla MLA has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking compensation for victims of the Bandra slum collapse. Residents of Bandra’s Behrampada and family members of children who died in last Thursday’s house collapse, demanded they be compensated for their loss. Their demand was submitted to the CM by AIMIM MLA from Byculla, Waris Pathan. The Samajwadi Party (SP) too jumped into the fray and asked for a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for families of the deceased.
In his letter, Mr Pathan alleged that the shanty collapsed due to government negligence and inaction and several innocent people lost their lives. He wrote: “The victims are entitled to compensation from the state government under rights guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution (Right to Life). It is the liability of the state to pay compensation for infringement of Article 21”. The MLA urged the state to come up with a policy for the wellbeing of such family members under their rights to restoration, restitution, rehabilitation and correction.
Meanwhile, SP group leader in the BMC, Rais Shaikh, confirmed that his party’s leader, Abu Azmi, had asked the government to pay compensation of Rs 5 lakh to family members of the deceased as they were poor.
A four-storey shanty in Behrampada collapsed last Thursday afternoon, claiming the lives of six children from two families and injuring five others. The structure was taller than 14 feet, which is the permissible height for shanties. While the municipal commissioner had directed all ward officials earlier this month to demolish shanties crossing the permissible 14 feet height, no action on those lines had been taken till BMC finally began demolishing precarious shanties on Saturday in the wake of last Thursday’s mishap.
