Though they are just a stone’s throw away from their homes, the 32 evacuated families of Queens Corner Apartment are bracing themselves for the long haul before they can return to their homes. They are groping in the dark wondering when they would be able to return home, with apprehensions about safety of their flats, in which they have invested their life’s savings.
While restoration work at the apartment complex has begun in earnest, it may be a long time before the building gets cleared for habitation again. Though Legacy Global Projects has provided accommodation to all the 32 families in hotels, the families lament that they are having a tough time for no fault of theirs.
Lal Mirpuri, president of the Queens Corner Apartment Complex Residents’ Association, said, “After three days of pandemonium over the accident, we have started to go to work from today. We are looking forward to returning home at the earliest.”
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Many residents have visited their homes to pick up essential items, mainly clothes, school books, bags and uniforms, and medicines. The displaced residents, who have left behind locked flats, have shifted their belongings to small rooms.
“We are trying to make the best of the situation. While we are grateful to be safe, we are worried about when we will be able to get back to our normal lives,” Mr. Mirpuri said.
Another resident, Rajkumar, told
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“Sending children to school from these hotel rooms and getting food is difficult. Some of the residents, who are diabetic or suffer from hypertension, follow a specific diet. Getting that in a hotel is a major issue,” he said. A group of more than 50 labourers are working round the clock to repair the damage to the building. The damaged compound wall has been rebuilt and the spot where the earth had caved in has been filled with concrete. However, the cracks that have developed in the building are lying unattended.