3 min readPuneUpdated: Jul 8, 2026 09:49 PM IST
After a portion of a three-storeyed administrative building at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) Moshi garbage depot collapsed under a sliding mound of waste, trapping 16 employees, staff members and family of those trapped have alleged that an eerily similar incident had occurred at the same site around a month ago – and was ignored by the administration.
The Moshi garbage depot in Pune. (Express Photo)
Similar incident before
A housekeeping staffer employed at the plant said the signs of instability had been visible through Wednesday morning itself. “Since Wednesday morning the garbage pile was sliding, even I had a discussion with the fellow staff. Following our lunch at the same premises, when we left the premises, at around 1.40 pm, we heard a loud sound and the building garbage slided down taking the building along,” the staffer said.
But it was not the first time this had happened, according to another housekeeping staff member at the site, who said a similar slide had gone unaddressed previously. “The building that collapsed was the administration building that housed several officers. And even a similar pile of garbage collapsed and reached the adjacent road but was ignored,” the staffer said.
Kin blame administrative negligence
Vishwas Gaware, whose sister is among those trapped in Wednesday’s collapse, said he learned of the incident by chance while travelling to Bhosari for personal work. “When I was travelling for work to Bhosari in the afternoon, I saw several ambulances rushing towards the garbage plant, and out of curiosity I came to the spot. When I inquired with the administration, I learned that a building had collapsed and my sister, who works here, is one among the 16 people trapped. Now I am told she is responding to the rescue officials,” Gaware said.
Gaware was among the more vocal voices alleging the collapse was avoidable. “Even a similar case of the garbage pile sliding was reported one month ago. If the administration had acted then itself, today’s tragedy would have been avoided,” he said.
Commissioner says will investigate
Responding to the allegations, PCMC Commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi said the civic body would look into whether an earlier warning had indeed been ignored.
“I have to investigate this matter. Also, since the last three days there has been heavy rain, so the weight accumulated within the garbage must have exceeded safe limits, and a landslide similar to the one reported earlier happened on Wednesday,” Suryavanshi said.
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On the rescue operation, Suryavanshi said teams are working through the afternoon to free those trapped. “Rescue efforts are underway on a war footing. Teams of the Indian Army, NDRF and fire brigade have been working to cut the safety grills on windows to get the trapped out. Around 16 staff members have been trapped inside the building and we are constantly communicating with them. No casualties have been reported so far,” he had said.
