Alaya Apartment Collapse: Four months after tragedy, survivors fighting to piece together their lives

LUCKNOW Exactly four months ago, on January 24, five-storeyed Alaya Apartment building on Wazir Hasan road in Lucknow came crashing down. The collapse killed three people (including two women from a family) and injured several others while rendering several families homeless.

While the physical injuries caused due to the cave-in have mostly healed, the residents of the building have still not been to limp back to normalcy. Most of the flat owners in the building are either living in rented accommodations or have taken refuge in some relative’s home. According to the survivors, the government has only given them verbal assurances so far.

Sharing her heart-wrenching story, Ranjana Awasthi, one of the residents of the building, told HT, “I am a single parent. My husband passed away only a year after my daughter Aloka was born. I raised her single handedly and worked hard all my life to provide for her. Her wedding was scheduled this year itself but our apartment building collapsed. As a consequence, her marriage was called off and I lost everything I earned in 30 years of service.”

At present, Ranjana and Aloka are lodged at a friend’s place as renting a flat would be a financial burden. “My daughter had stopped working as her wedding was scheduled. Now that we have lost everything and my salary isn’t enough anymore, my daughter has also resumed working. Hopefully, we can both manage to rent a house,” said Awasthi.

They blamed the incompetence of officers investigating the case who have failed to come up with any conclusions. “I have met the divisional commissioner and the CM as well. All authorities assured me of help but nothing is happening. In fact, it is ironical that we have lost our house but are still getting messages for payment of house tax,” she said. “I faced a turmoil when my husband died. Today, I am in a similar situation. Hopefully, we will overcome this too,” she added.

Another building resident, Honey Haider, has shifted to his in-law’s family in the old city. Honey and his wife Afreen Fatima had to live at a dargah after the building cave-in. Today, they are trying to rebuild their life by working on small interior projects to earn some livelihood.

“We got married in 2022. Both of us were never into any full-time job as my wife and I were freelance interior designers,” said Honey. The couple has lost their infant just a month before the collapse. Before they could come to terms with the tragedy, another one struck them in the form of the building cave-in.

The couple now spends large part of the day on sites but is hardly able to make enough. In absence of government assistance, the couple is facing a hard time. “We were a joint family, all living on the same floor of the building. Today, our entire family is split up. I’m living with my in-laws, my father is in Raipur with my sister, and my brother Abbas Haider and Ruba Haider with their in-laws,” added Haider. “My dad is dealing with depression and has even become suicidal. We’re still getting messages to pay house tax. We’re trying to move on with a heavy heart. What other option do we have,” asked the couple.

Meanwhile, Bhola Prasad, another flat-owner in the building, is still hopeful of some turnaround. He had purchased a flat in the building in 2017. Through the flat, Bhola earned rental income, which was the sole source of earning in his old age. Today, he is dependent on his children for even the smallest of expenses. “He (Bhola) has been depressed ever since the building collapsed. He doesn’t talk much these days,” said Surya Gupta, Bhola’s son.