ByTwenty-two families who lost their homes after a two-storeyed building in Dombivli collapsed last month have been evicted from a municipal education department hall where they had been provided shelter. Those who sought refuge in the building said they pleaded with municipal corporation officials that they did not have the means to rent alternative lodgings, but were told the hall was required for a wedding, which took place last Thursday.Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) officials said the families had been offered space at a night shelter 5 km away, but the evacuees claimed they had only been allocated four apartments, inadequate for 22 families.Since then, they have scattered: two families have found space in the ground floor apartment of a building near the hall – the landlord uses it as a warehouse – while another household has had to make do in a dairy. A fortunate few have taken shelter in the homes of their relatives, but say it’s a matter of time before they wear out their welcome.One half of Matru Kripa, a building in Thakurli, collapsed on July 28, killing nine people and injuring at least 10. The portion of the building that remained standing was pulled down after rescue operations were complete, for fear that it too would cave in. The 22 families – about 60 people – who made it their home moved to the KDMC’s Dr Sri Nanasaheb Sabhagraha nearby, where they were provided three meals a day; a charitable organisation donated clothes for them to wear.But those relief supplies stopped the moment the KDMC informed them they had to move into apartments 5 km away. “How will so many of us live there? The hall was spacious. These apartments are too small,” said Srinivas Sawant, one of the evacuees.There is also the matter of a lengthy commute – the schools and colleges their children attend are all located in the vicinity of the building that collapsed. “We are poor people. We don’t have Rs 10 in our pockets. How are we going to shell out Rs 60 per day to travel to and from the school to the night shelter?” asked Urmila Yadav, whose son and daughter go to school near where Matru Kripa once stood.Kavita Baisane, another resident, said, “We begged the officials to let us stay in the hall for a few more days, but they flatly refused. Now we are moving from house to house. First we stayed in a nearby building. Then we realised that too has been served a notice. So we had to move out. Now we sleep on the ground in our relatives’ place, but we feel embarrassed to intrude for so long. They too can’t keep us forever. Their homes are small. I did not even get the time to take out my valuables and money when our side of the building was demolished. I don’t have any money. So we have no choice.”Kanchan Yadav, mother of Deepak Yadav, who saved several people after the collapse, is among those who was allowed to set up a temporary home in a warehouse. “The people have been kind enough to give us food,” she said. “But that won’t go on for long.” She said she intends to get by on a 10 kg container of rice that she rescued from the debris of her home in Thakurli. The KDMC’s ward officer Hiren Kumavat reiterated that the families had been allocated “sufficient accommodation in the night shelter”. He wouldn’t say if they would be allowed back into the hall.Acolleague of Kumavat, who requested that he remain unnamed, told this newspaper the KDMC had done all it could to help the families, and that the consequences of their refusal to move into the night shelter was theirs to bear. He also pointed out that those living in buildings deemed dangerous would frequently turn away KDMC officials who turned up with eviction notices. In all, the civic administration issued such warnings to residents of 139 buildings in the municipality, 12 of these structures had been declared “extremely dangerous”.