Two days ahead of the Supertech twin towers’ demolition, residents in the neighbouring Emerald Court have been preparing on their own. Supertech Emerald Court lies in the vicinity with only a nine-metre gap between Aster-2 tower and the twin towers.
“We have kept all our valuables in lockers and have taken down the TV from the wall,” said Gaurav Saxena (38) resident of the society. Saxena, a software engineer at HP in California, has been working from home for the past two years and has been a resident at Emerald Court for the past 14 years with his mother, wife, daughter and brother.
Saxena said that though the dust is unavoidable, he and his family have taken some steps to protect their home from the impact of the demolition. “We have placed plastic sheets around the balconies and we will be placing bubble wrap around glass windows and doors to protect them from any damage which the blast can cause.” The RWA has asked residents to place a sheet of paper outside their flat to imply the number of people in the flat and that nobody is inside, Saxena said. Electricity in the society will be turned off and residents have been asked to turn off all electrical appliances and other equipment including LPG gas connection.
Saxena lives in Aster-7, which lies a little away from the blast site, but a tour of the premises shows that Aster-2 building is only a few metres away from the twin towers. “The swimming pool and tennis courts have been covered, and the green area inside the buildings will also be covered later today. We will be going to Nainital tomorrow to the homes of our relatives. There is an inconvenience; my daughter and wife have gone to my in-laws’ place to ride the pollution and dust out. These issues, however, are temporary and it will be interesting to see the process.”
Saxena lauded the RWA of the society especially the president, UBS Teotia, who has ensured that all checks are in place for the demolition and has been actively involved in the litigation before the Supreme Court. “The RWA has done an exceptional job in helping people with the evacuation. Everyone came together for this. We are confident about preparations, but some apprehensions regarding how the buildings will fall and the possibility of rains remain.”
Inderjeet who lives with her two kids In Aster-2, which is closest to the demolition site, will be leaving for her hometown in Meerut on Saturday. “We have sealed windows and cleared things from walls. Humne is building ki digging se le karke finally is building ki demolition ki tayaari dekhi hai. We are happy about the demolition; it also serves as a lesson for all those builders who have carried out illegal construction.”
Sudeep Maheshwari, who has been caring for his ailing mother, said, “I have just come back from the hospital. We will have to manage somehow. We will be leaving our home (Emerald-1) on Sunday morning.”
The demolition is scheduled for August 28 at 2.30 pm.
