Mumbai's woman and a girl killed after iron rod falls on rickshaw from under-construction building

A 28-year-old woman and a nine-year-old girl died after an iron rod fell on the auto- rickshaw in which they were travelling from an under-construction building in suburban Jogeshwari on Saturday evening, a civic official said.

The incident took place near Shalyak Hospital on the Western Express Highway around 5.45 pm, he said.

The tragedy followed the death of two persons in Worli area last month after being hit by a cement block which came crashing down from a building under construction.

The under-construction building where the latest accident took place was a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

The iron rod fell from the seventh floor of the scaffolding of the 14-storey building, he said.

Shama Bano Asif Shaikh (28) and Ayat Asif Shaikh (9) were injured as it hit the rickshaw in which they were travelling. They were first rushed to a nearby trauma care hospital after a passer-by alerted the civic helpline, the official said.

The doctors at the hospital declared the woman as brought dead, while the girl was rushed to Kokilaben Hospital in Andheri. But the doctors at Kokilaben Hospital declared her as brought dead.

Notably, on Thursday, the Bombay High Court had asked the BMC to formulate safety guidelines for the use of cranes in construction of high-rises.

A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and R N Laddha in its order noted that it was high time the BMC gave special attention to the safety requirements at construction sites.

On February 14, a large cement block came crashing down from the 52nd floor of the under-construction Four Seasons Private Residences project at Worli in central Mumbai, killing two persons standing outside the premises.

The HC order came on a petition filed by nearby residents alleging lack of proper care by the developer.

"We firmly believe that a right of a person to move freely, in places which are not actual construction sites, if threatened by a fear of being killed or hurt, this would certainly amount to violation of one's fundamental right to livelihood, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," the HC said.