3 lives lost in LPG cylinder blasts in Bhayander slum

Mira Bhayander: Two minors and a man died in a fire that gutted 35 shanties in a slum pocket in Bhayander East's Indralok-Phase 3 on Friday, after four to five LPG cylinder blasts in quick succession in a cooking mishap. The deceased have been identified as Guddu Balkisnu (47) from Uttar Pradesh who worked as a mason while the two minors, cousins Suraj Ali and Rohit Ali, both 15, were from West Bengal. Their bodies were identified and handed over to their families on Saturday. Navghar police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) and will investigate the incident.The slum pocket came up a few years ago on the open plot that is a coastal regulation zone (CRZ) land with mangroves, alleged local residents and activists. Affected residents have lost all their belongings. Several students said they lost all their books and study material to the fire.A woman, Makiya, said she just took her three kids and ran out of her room, leaving everything behind.Kamal Shahji from Kolkata who had moved in two years ago said the rent for a room is Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000. He claimed the fire started in one of the rooms and spread.Aliya, another resident, said she too had lived there for two years and everything was destroyed in minutes. "We escaped, but have lost all our belongings," she said.Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik visited the site and met the residents who told him they had been residing in the slum pocket for around two years and paid rent to a private person on the 11th of every month.Sarnaik reportedly noticed that a borewell had been dug, which had a top cover of a 200-litre drum, and all shanties had individual electric meters. He told the tehsildar, Nilesh Gaund, if the complaints of the locals about this plot being used illegally would have been resolved in time, the three lives would have been saved. He assured the residents he would send a proposal to the state govt for compensation. Gaund did not respond to calls and messages from TOI for a comment.Prakash Borade, chief fire officer, said prima facie the fire seems to have erupted in one of the hutments while cooking. He said they managed to take out the cylinders from the remaining shanties, which totalled 23.MBMC commissioner Radhabinod Sharma said, "We have already launched our investigation and appropriate action would be taken against the people responsible for this fire."Claiming this was CRZ land reclaimed by the land mafia, Dhiraj Parab, an activist from Bhayander, said, "Illegal land filling has been carried out in the mangrove and tidal zones behind the Navghar village in Bhayandar East by the land mafia. Unauthorised businesses, constructions, and slums have been developed, generating a huge rental income. Strict action must be taken not only against the land mafia, but also against the concerned officials. According to Bombay high court orders, all illegal fillings and constructions should be removed, natural tidal flow restored, and mangroves replanted."MBVV DCP Rahul Chavan said they registered an accidental death report at Navghar police station and will investigate it. He said they will wait for the MBMC report on the incident before finalising charges in the case.