Different address makes no difference in collapse zone
Times of India | 2 June 2024
Kolkata: They lost their homes when a building came crashing down three months back but on Saturday, 89 odd Garden Reach residents turned up at a booth less than 100 metres from the collapse site, carrying proofs of residence that no longer exists.
On March 18, 13 people died when a five-storeyed under-construction building collapsed on the neighbouring slum at Azhar Molla Bagan Lane in Garden Reach.The tragedy left 22-odd families homeless.
Pointing towards a mangled brick-and-mortar structure, Hashmat Ali said that is where his home once stood where he lived with his family of six members. “There was my house, spread across three cottahs. Now, all I am left with is a land full of rubble and broken furniture. The only thing intact is the main door that has my father’s name on it,” said Ali, while checking out his lost home before he set off to cast his vote.
“I still voted to exercise my democratic right. The ruling party has promised to rebuild my home after the election. I am keeping my fingers crossed,” added Ali, who is now staying at a separate place on rent.
Equally hopeful was Shamsad Begum, whose family had four flats at the building next to the collapsed structure. They were evicted after KMC termed it “dangerous” in post-collapse audits.
“The demolition work is still on. We have been allotted four one-room temporary flats at a community hall, around 2kms away. However, all of us still came to cast our vote, including my 70-year-old mother-in-law who has difficulty walking. I hope our home gets rebuilt at the earliest,” said Begum, whose family owned four 400 sq ft flats at the building undergoing demolition.
The family members of the victims who are still picking up the pieces were also there to cast their votes at Darul-Ulum Primary High School on Fatehpur Village Road.
“My husband was an avid party worker and during elections, he was hardly found at home. In his absence, I asked the women in the neighbourhood to go out and cast their votes in the morning itself. His vacuum can’t be fulfilled but at least I can continue with his unfinished work,” said Kahkasha Nizami, wife of Sheroo Nizami, who was the last one to be pulled out of the debris.
Lying on a water bed at his home was 23-year-old Sahiluddin Gazi, who had spent 10 hours under the debris and came out alive. “I missed my vote. I would have asked my parents to take me to the booth on a wheelchair if I could sit but the accident has broken my waist. I don’t know when I will be able to get up. But I urged my friends who were to see me to cast their vote,” said Gazi.