An under-contruction building collapsed in Delhi’s Rohini, killing three persons, including the owner’s father. In Mumbai’s Mankhurd, six persons lost their lives after a chawl gave way amidst heavy rainfall. In Pune, a government office building came crashing down after a massive garbage dump right behind it became unstable and slid after days of heavy rains. All three incidents happened in a matter of a few days.
The stories may be from different cities, but the pattern is strikingly similar.
Either these buildings are under construction or illegal structures or projects built without consideration for ecological or environmental risks.
Rohini: An Under-Construction Structure Collapses
On Wednesday (July 8) evening, after hours of intense rainfall, an under-construction building collapsed in Delhi’s Rohini Sector 16. The Delhi Police received a PCR call around 4.28 pm about the incident. Rescue teams from the police, fire services and the NDRF were rushed to the site immediately. As per latest available information, three people lost their lives, including a labourer, a local resident and the father of the building owner. Another labourer was rescued alive from the debris, while many are still feared trapped.
The police has filed an FIR and investigations are underway into the cause of the collapse.
The questions being asked are uncomfortable. Was rainfall alone enough to bring it down, or did the rain merely expose deeper structural problems?
Mumbai: Mankhurd’s Chawl Collapse
A few days earlier, a multi-storey chawl in Mumbai’s Mankhurd came crashing down, in one of the deadliest building collapses this monsoon season. Viral videos showed rescue workers and police teams battling rain and difficult condition to rescue those trapped in the debris. A total of six individuals, including five children, were killed in the incident.
The victims included members of the same family and children who had gathered in the building during the rains. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced compensation for the families of the deceased.
While politicians indulged in blame game over the deaths, with Mayor Ritu Tawde saying the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) couldn’t be held liable for the deaths in the chawl collapse as the building was outside its jurisdiction, and also claimed that the structure was unauthorised, the question remains why unsafe buildings were not identified or timely repairs carried out.
Pune: When A Garbage Mountain Became A Landslide
If Delhi’s collapse raised questions about construction quality and Mumbai’s about ageing housing, Pune’s Moshi disaster exposed another urban challenge altogether – that of ignoring ecological risks.
On Wednesday, July 8, a massive mound of legacy waste collapsed onto a three-storey administrative building at a waste-to-energy facility in Pimpri Chinchwad.
Officials said the area had received more than 600 mm of rainfall in roughly 30 to 35 hours, causing the enormous garbage pile to become unstable and surge toward the structure like a landslide.
The building housed employees of a waste-processing company operating in partnership with the municipal corporation.
A massive rescue operation involving the NDRF, Army, fire brigade, police and civic authorities was launched. While several workers have been rescued, many are still feared trapped under the debris.
Municipal officials said the preliminary assessment pointed to the collapse of the waste mound as the immediate cause. The incident highlights the risks of ignoring ecological and environmental hazards, particularly as extreme rainfall events become more frequent.
Monsoon Is Not The Problem, It Has Exposed It
The incidents came within days of one another, during a monsoon season that has already tested urban infrastructure across India. The past week alone has seen widespread flooding, landslides, transport disruptions and structural failures across multiple states. Mumbai and Pune witnessed severe weather disruptions, while large parts of Delhi struggled with waterlogging after intense spells of rain.
This extreme weather is proving to be a stress test for infrastructure that was perhaps designed for a different climate reality. However, the weather pattern is now changing. The intensity and concentration of rain is changing. Short bursts of extremely heavy rainfall are becoming more common, which places enormous stress on buildings, slopes, drainage systems and urban infrastructure.
Ageing structures, poor maintenance, questionable construction practices, and weak enforcement add to the problem. India’s cities are expanding rapidly, often faster than regulatory systems can keep pace. Building inspections remain inconsistent. Unsafe structures continue to be occupied. Waste management challenges persist. Drainage networks struggle under extreme rainfall.
The monsoon did not create these problems. It has exposed them.
The question is no longer whether India’s cities can survive a normal monsoon. It is whether they are prepared for the increasingly extreme weather that climate scientists say will become more common in the years ahead.