After a heavy downpour on Saturday evening old buildings collapsed in Zaveri Bazaar and Kalbadevi and other places killing one and injuring three. This was the first time this season that a building collapsed after heavy rains.

The three-storey Bullion Building at Princess Street in Zaveri Bazaar came down at 12:40 am, while the back portion of the three-storey Kaneria House at Vitthalvadi in Kalbadevi caved in at 9 am on Sunday. Both buildings were unoccupied.

The deceased, Ram Singh Verma (32), was resting under a shed at Bullion Building along with Arjun Khannal (22), Surendra Verma (20) and Rakesh Verma (20) when the incident occurred. The three suffered minor injuries and were rushed to GT Hospital. Ram Singh was from Basti Jillah in UP and had been working in Mumbai since the past three years. There were no casualties at Kaneria House were repair work was under way.

According to civic officials, Bullion Building was over 50-years-old. The landlord did not allow the demolition of the building despite repeated notices served by the BMC. Santosh J, owner of a nearby shop, said, “It used to be a commercial building but it has been empty since the past fifteen years after BMC served a notice to vacate it.”

Ram Singh’s friend Santram Singh said, “All four lived in Kurla and would come here for work. They were hawkers owning roadside eateries. On Saturday, because of the heavy rains and disruption of rail services, they decided to stay back in Zaveri Bazaar and were taking shelter under the dilapidated building.”