SURAT: On Wednesday, residents from 192 apartments in four towers of Shiv Residency were evacuated due to the collapse of a compound wall and part of the adjacent land into a deep foundation pit at Bhimrad.
The incident occurred late Tuesday night when a cement concrete retaining wall of a construction site managed by the Raj Lakshmi Group failed. This caused the boundary wall of Shiv Residency to collapse, raising safety concerns for nearby buildings.
After a preliminary investigation, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) suspended the licenses of architect Suresh Maurya, structural engineer Jalil Shaikh, developer Tushar Ribadiya from Raj Lakshmi Group, and site supervisor Tejas Jasani, citing negligence in taking necessary preventive actions. “The accumulation of water is believed to have caused soil settlement, leading to the collapse,” an SMC official stated.
Fire teams from the Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES) responded to an emergency call around 11:34 PM, conducting assessments and securing the area. They notified various SMC departments for immediate assistance.
“The ground by the foundation pit became incredibly unstable. The pit is over 50 feet deep. A parking structure also collapsed, but some vehicles were relocated safely,” a SFES official reported.
Further inspections by SMC teams revealed that four buildings within the Shiv Residency complex were in jeopardy. “As a safety measure, all residents from the four buildings — totaling 192 apartments — were instructed to vacate and have since relocated to alternative accommodations,” stated an SMC official.
On Tuesday night, numerous residents fled their homes, fearing potential collapses. Following the SMC’s assessment on Wednesday, they were briefly permitted to return to their flats to gather essential belongings before fully evacuating the premises.
