While some took selfies with the twin towers in the background, others made video calls to relativesNOIDA: Almost everyone who took the Noida expressway on Saturday stopped for a brief while on the service lane. They whipped out cameras and phones and aimed their lenses at the tall Apex and Ceyane towers rising above the Noida skyline – one last time before they are razed to the ground at 2.30pm on Sunday. Among the crowd of shutterbugs was Riyansh Verma, all of 7. It was only last year that the Sector 126 resident had started a YouTube channel of his own. Having captured a few videos of the towers from various angles, he is now planning a timelapse clip on his channel. “Almost every day, I watched the twin towers’ coverage on news channels. So, I decided to see them one last time on Saturday before they are demolished. I know they were built illegally and will be demolished at 2.30pm on Sunday. This will clear the view of the expressway for the residents living around the towers. After that, I will upload my video,” he told TOI. Riyansh has promised his friends and relatives in other cities that he would share with them videos from the spot. On Saturday, he had dragged along his parents, who had to take time off from office work. Other commuters who stopped on the expressway made video calls to their relatives and showed them the towers that they had seen only on TV. Many took photos of the buildings from their vehicles. Ashok Bajaj, a resident of Gaur City in Noida Extension, said, “I wanted to see this building before its demolition. There has been so much hype around this that I became curious too. I wanted to see the towers, which look so huge up close. Now that I have seen them, I do not feel good about their demolition. There should have been an alternative. But it is the apex court’s judgment. We should all respect it. I am concerned about the post-demolition scenario here.” Like Bajaj, those staring at the towers had different concerns and viewpoints. Some residents expressed concerns about the environmental impacts of the demolition. Others agreed with the Supreme Court decision to bring down the twin towers, which had been built without proper approvals. Rickshaw pullers had lined up at the site since the morning because there were too many potential passengers. Dheeraj Singh, a rickshaw puller, said, “We all have been waiting on the service lane since morning. We are dropping passengers and coming back. Many residents from nearby sectors are coming today (Saturday) to see the towers for the last time. I also did a video call to my relatives in Bihar. They were very excited to see the buildings this tall.” “I feel special that I am able to witness the towers before the demolition,” added Singh. A resident from Sector 76, who was visiting with his five-year-old daughter, said, “While I was watching news on TV, my daughter found out about the scheduled demolition of the towers. She got curious, and urged me to bring her here. On our way, she fell asleep. But when I whispered into her ears that we had arrived, she woke up and became excited all over again.” FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebookTwitterInstagramKOO APPYOUTUBE
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/one-for-the-album-when-noida-expressway-turned-a-viewpoint-for-the-last-shot/articleshow/93826816.cms