Squash champ's trophies, certificates stuck inside house in Khar

Residents of Bhola Apartments in a panic about not being able to retrieve their important documents

Aishwarya Khubchandani, a well-known teen squash player, and a resident of Bhole Apartment in Khar, had been planning to seek admission to a university abroad based on her achievements in sports. But, she is now very worried about what will happen to the multiple trophies and certificates still lying inside her house which are proof of her achievements. Aishwarya's story of despondency is echoed by other residents of Bhole Apartment where the demolition work has begun on Wednesday.

A portion of the residential building near Khar gymkhana collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. A 10-year-old girl, Mahi Motwani, a resident of the fourth floor, died in the mishap while two others suffered minor injuries.

Aishwarya is a resident of the first floor of the other side of the building that hasn't collapsed. "There are multiple trophies and certificates of Aishwarya inside our house. It is based on those that we are planning her admission to universities abroad for higher education. The authorities can at least help us take out some important belongings like this. She is growing to be a big sportsperson and is excelling at several levels. We do not know what will happen to all those certificates," said Roshni, Aishwarya's mother. Another resident Soni Ajwani, who lives on the second floor on rent, said, "It is not even my own flat. But I have so many important belongings there. My cousin is here from Delhi on holiday and see what has happened. She has to fly back to Delhi on Thursday but all her belongings are inside the house," said Ajwani. She continued, "We hope the authorities help residents take out important belongings such as identity credentials, documents and other important papers. They can allow one person from each flat to go inside with an official to bring these out."

Aishwarya Khubchandani. Pic/Shadab Khan

Residents of Pooja building adjacent to it were also told to evacuate their homes. Nanik Kukreja, a resident and secretary of Pooja Apartments, said 18 families live in the building and they evacuated it on Tuesday night. "We moved out and are staying with relatives. We came back this morning but left again after the BMC sent the notice to evacuate. Civic officials haven't told us yet when we can move back in," he said. He added that over the past 3-4 days, residents of Pooja Apartments had noticed some men working on the columns of Bhole Apartments. Another resident, requesting anonymity, said, "We were asked to evacuate for safety reasons as the demolition work of Bhole Apartment began on Tuesday. We do not know how long it will continue and when we will get to go back home."

Khar Gymkhana opens its doors

Khar Gymkhana which is close by, opened its doors to residents of Bhole Apartment. Residents of Bhole and Pooja buildings were allowed to use the facilities such as washroom and food. "All residents were informed that they could stay at the gymkhana, which a few of them did," said Gaurav Kapadia, Honorary General Secretary of Khar gymkhana. He added, "On Wednesday, as we knew that residents of Pooja building had been asked to vacate their houses for safety reasons, we opened our doors for them, too."

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