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Signature View Apartment: Stories of fear, damage and loss
Over 60 families have so far moved out of the Signature View Apartment in Mukherjee Nagar ever since the DDA has declared the condominium dangerous for living purposes
Dodging concrete blocks as they negotiate the compound, their valuables packed for an emergency evacuation -- this is how the residents of Signature View apartments in Mukherjee Nagar get by each day. When HT visited the site, the signs of degradation in the barely 11-year-old towers were everywhere to see. Residents said over 50 cars have been damaged by falling concrete, nearly all flats have cracks, and portions of the ceiling have collapsed. Some walls that had thin cracks till two months ago now have inch-wide gaps as the damage is increasing.
The Pandeys, (first floor)
‘Only God has kept us alive so far’
Gaurav Pandey lived in Signature View apartment for a few months as a tenant before he bought a flat there in 2017. The society and its location looked good, and it had large open spaces and schools in the vicinity.
His troubles started soon after. A portion of the bathroom ceiling in his house collapsed, and cracks appeared in one of the bedrooms in 2018. His was among the 50 flats repaired by DDA about two years ago. After the repairs, he also got his interiors reworked with additional woodwork in the kitchen.
Less than two years since the repairs, however, his bathroom ceiling has fallen again, and the plaster over the kitchen beams is broken at multiple places. Around almost every door and wardrobe, more cracks are visible.
“It is difficult to pay attention at work knowing that my little children are inside the house. But sending them out is also dangerous as concrete blocks keep falling off. It is only by God’s grace that we have been able to avoid any major accident so far,” said Pandey.
He lives with his parents, wife, a five-year-old daughter, and a newborn son.
The newly developing crack in Pandey’s living room wall is now being used as an incense stick holder. He casually points to a long crack spanning across a stilt parking wall. “This was just a long hairline crack till a couple of months ago, now it is gap where I can insert my fingers. The damage is increasing every day,” said Pandey.
Walking ahead, he shows to another stack of small concrete pieces. “This looks fresh. Must have fallen off in the morning,” he says.
The Kumars, (fifth floor)
‘We were watching TV when the ceiling fell’
Ashok Kumar and his wife, who declined to giver her name, are working parents. Their two young daughters stay at home with their grandmother and a domestic help.
One afternoon, the kids were watching TV in the drawing room when a portion of the ceiling fell close to the television set.
“It was very scary, and there was a loud noise. But it was not as bad as just a few days ago when the entire drawing room ceiling had fallen in the house in front of ours and my friend got hurt in the leg. All of their furniture was damaged. They couldn’t live there without getting it repaired,” said 10-year-old Shanaya as she stood under the damaged portion of the ceiling.
Kumar said that they started looking for a flat the same day. The family is nearly all packed and will be moving out by the end of this month. However, before they could shift, another incident shook the family when a portion of their balcony ceiling came crumbling down.
“Compensation or not, we are moving out immediately. This entire society is just crumbling down in front of our eyes. I can’t keep my family in constant danger anymore,” said Kumar.
His drawing room and bedroom walls have also started developing cracks. The seepage on one of the walls between two bedrooms was covered with a floral pink wall paper. The dining room ceiling also fell off earlier, but it was minor damage that the family got repaired before the IIT report came to light. A wind chime hangs there, barely hiding the difference in colour between the old and new plaster.
The Vermas, (Ninth floor)
‘We could no longer sleep’
Dr Shweta Verma was enjoying the evening view from her balcony on a weekend off. She decided to get some tea, and went to the kitchen. As soon as she grabbed milk, she heard a loud thud and rushed out to find that a portion of the balcony ceiling had collapsed. The impact broke the plastic chair on which she was sitting a minute ago.
“That was our trigger to shift out immediately. After that incident, we constantly felt unsafe in the house. When the children were away, they would keep calling to check on us. When we stepped out, we kept checking on the children. We were living in constant fear and could hardly sleep in that house anymore. We had stopped calling guests to our house and even asked parents to not come over,” said Verma.
“The IIT report was also alarming, especially for us because we lived in Tower D. The words kept ringing in our ears. The report mentioned that tower D was among the four towers with extensive damage and must be vacated immediately to prevent any loss of life,” she added.
She lived in Signature View with her husband and two teenage daughters. Last month, the family moved to a rented flat in a neighbouring society. Following the LG’s order to vacate the premises, rentals in neighbouring societies have increased, according to residents, who said that people want to shift close by because their children study in schools in the vicinity.
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