Dosti Realty

Wadala project

Lloyd’s Estate

BMC

F North Ward

(L) Site where the incident happened. (R) BMC offices (PIC: SACHIN HARALKAR)

Structural engineer Nitin Kamble’s audit blames the firm’s under-construction project for the damage.The controversial excavation at’s underdevelopment, blamed for the huge cave-in at the adjoining apartment-tower complexlast week, has now caused cracks in’s own offices in the same vicinity.Nitin Kamble, a consulting structural engineer registered with the BMC, has submitted a report to officials, drawing their attention to cracks on the compound wall of the building proposals department’s offices, wall defects on the ground floor, and raised lobby tiles. Kamble has said that large-scale excavation for a basement parking at Dosti Realty’s project caused the damage. The civic body had given the permission for the parking.“We [Kamble and his team] visited your Wadala offices and observed distresses in the structural and non-structural elements. We opine that this is the outcome of the excavation in the adjoining plot. We have intimated,” he has said in the report, adding that corrective measures should be taken immediately as Dosti Realty’s plot is right next door.On June 25, the compound wall of the upscale Lloyd’s Estate, which also abuts the plot, collapsed following a cave-in in heavy rains. Seven to eight parked cars tumbled down the gorge and residents of one wing at the complex were evacuated. They have now returned to their homes.“We request you to take utmost care as we observed multiple distresses in your building elements,” Kamble has told BMC officials. Mirror contacted a representative of Dosti Realty on Monday, but the official refused to comment.This is not the first time Kamble has raised concerns about structural stability. He had conducted an audit last year after a wall collapsed at the site. He blamed the failure of the shoring system along the periphery of the land. The audit was ordered by residents of Lloyd’s Estate and Dosti Blossoms, another complex that shares it boundary with the plot.“If residents can observe structural distresses in their buildings, how did engineers sitting in the building proposals offices miss cracks on their premises?” Kamble asked.