BUY YOUR HOUSE, THE FAMILY GRAVE COMES FREE WITH IT

You are finally on the threshold of realizing your biggest dream. You are about to enter your OWN new house. Chintels Paradiso even had Paradise written into its name. But little did you realize that Paradise is only available after departure from the real world you live in today. This is true of so many constructions today and Chintels Paradiso was the tip of the iceberg that showed, that’s all. One person was killed and two others trapped under the rubble when a portion of that apartment building collapsed on Thursday (11th February 2022) evening, an official told newspersons soon after. Soon the number rose to 4 dead and counting. Initial reports said the living room floor of a sixth-floor apartment at Chintels Paradiso housing complex first came down, triggering the collapse of roofs and floors directly under it.

Authorities abandoned a search for survivors from the collapse of a seven-storey building on Mumbai’s outskirts in January that killed 72 people, saying there was no hope of finding anybody else alive. “The rescue work is now over since there is no hope of finding any more survivors,” Sandeep Malvi, Thane municipal corporation spokesman, said. “The death toll is now 72. About 36 are injured and undergoing treatment. At least 126 people have been rescued,” he added. Most of the victims were poor daily wage earners working at the site and their families, who were living with them. The dead included 17 children and 22 women, a local government statement said. Police arrested the two builders responsible for construction of the structure who had fled after the disaster and filed accusations of culpable homicide against them, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said.

The building’s floors collapsed directly on top of each other like a pack of cards -- a phenomenon known as a “pancake collapse” -- making rescue work even tougher, said Alok Awasthi, commandant of the National Disaster Response Force.

Two persons were injured after a ground-plus-two storied structure collapsed at Malwani area in Malad, Mumbai this January. Two children died after a dilapidated house in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district collapsed on Thursday, January 27. One child sustained serious injuries. The incident was reported from Pudur village. Three children were reportedly near the building when it collapsed.

The house was reportedly built in 2013 by an NGO to house Sri Lankan Tamils. However, the building was later abandoned after questions were raised over the quality of the structure. Herein lays the rub. The real story begins when plans are drawn, deals are struck, money changes hands and grave stones masquerading as housing bricks are cemented together waiting for you to walk in. Is there any due diligence even possible? Unfortunately no, because while the smaller builders will kill you and your family in quick time, the more famous and reputed guys may offer you a few extra years.

This may sound a bit harsh and pessimistic, but I assure you I am not talking through my hat. Statistics prove it and reputations built over years collapse just as quickly as the buildings. The natural next question would be what is the government doing about it? The answer, as you all know, governments wait for the accident to happen and constitute an inquiry. Then they pay compensation to the kin of the dead. Then they arrest a few guys and it makes headlines but when these guys who have deep pockets easily get bail and begin plans to build another highrise, probably the one where you just booked your flat the other day.

Come to think of it, you may be one of the lucky ones who cannot afford your own house…yet.