Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar has criticized the state government and civic administration in Maharashtra, alleging that their failure to protect citizens has led to recent rain-related deaths in Mumbai. Wadettiwar pointed to the collapse of a chawl in Mankhurd on Sunday, which resulted in six fatalities, as an example of negligence in dealing with old and hazardous structures. He questioned whether the building had been declared unsafe and, if so, why residents were not relocated to a safer area. Ten lives have been lost in Mumbai over the past six days due to rain-related incidents, including house collapses, falling trees, and open manholes.
Wadettiwar emphasized that citizens should not have to pay with their lives due to administrative lapses. He demanded strict action against those responsible and urged the government to go beyond announcing inquiries and compensation. Instead, he recommended that the authorities conduct immediate safety audits of dilapidated buildings and implement effective measures to prevent such tragedies during the monsoon season.
In addition to the chawl collapse, two people died in tree collapse incidents in Mumbai over the last two days, and an 11-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell onto a moving school bus on June 30.
