One very shocking incident has now come out from Badamwadi,South Mumbai where a 130-year-old structure called Draupadi Building partially collapsed on Friday . And what is making whole situation even more disturbing is not just collapse itself… but what MHADA's pre-monsoon audit completely missed.
Thankfully no injuries were reported because residents had already been evacuated before the collapse happened . But that relief should not distract from how serious this oversight really is.
Because here is the part that is genuinely hard to understand . MHADA recently conducted pre-monsoon audit and identified 82 structures as dangerous . Draupadi Building,a visibly deteriorating 130-year-old structure,was not on that list . Not even close .
Mukesh Shah,a prominent pagdi activist,put it very bluntly . He said,"How is it possible that 130-year-old building is not on MHADA's list of dilapidated buildings? What if someone had died? What is the quality of audit if such a visibly dilapidated structure was not identified?" And honestly,these are not dramatic questions . These are completely reasonable things any ordinary person would ask .
Few things standing out clearly in this case:
- Draupadi Building is approximately 130 years old and shows signs of severe wear but was not included in MHADA's list of 82 dangerous structures.
- Residents were evacuated before collapse happened which prevented injuries,but officials have left tenants without proper housing arrangements .
- Critics are now calling for thorough review of MHADA's auditing processes,especially with monsoon season increasing risk of structural failures.
Then there is situation of actual tenants who are living through this uncertainty right now . Sanket Satardekar,one of the building's tenants,shared his frustration openly . He said officials conducted inspections,issued evacuation notices,but then basically left residents to figure out rest on their own . His exact words were,"Officials told us the redevelopment process is underway,but we are left to make our own arrangements until a developer is appointed. How are we supposed to do that?"
And honestly,that question carries real weight . These are not people who chose to live in dangerous conditions . They are tenants stuck in system that keeps promising redevelopment while offering nothing concrete in between.
What this incident also exposes is larger problem with cessed buildings across Mumbai . There are thousands of residents living in aging structures,trusting that inspections are happening and that someone is watching out for their safety . But if building as visibly deteriorating as Draupadi Building can escape audit entirely… that trust starts feeling very hollow .
Monsoon season is already making structural failures more likely and more frequent . Each week without stricter inspection regime is another week where similar situation could happen somewhere else in city . Only difference next time might not be that everyone gets out safely before building comes down…
Who is actually accountable for audit process that missed something this visible? That question right now does not seem to have clear answer.
