Tragic recall: Lalita Park gets a rude jolt

For 25-year-old Saleem Hussain, a resident of Lalita Park in east Delhi, the earthquake on Wednesday morning brought back memories of the November 15, 2010 building collapse in his locality, which had left 71 persons dead.

For 25-year-old Saleem Hussain, a resident of Lalita Park in east Delhi, the earthquake on Wednesday morning brought back memories of the November 15, 2010 building collapse in his locality, which had left 71 persons dead.

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Hussain was busy watching a cricket match when his bed and then the ceiling fan began shaking.

"I couldn't understand what was happening. For a second, I thought the building was about to collapse. I woke up everyone and we rushed out into the open. After 20 seconds, the tremors stopped," said Hussain.

One of the biggest building collapses in the city took place in Lalita Park on November 15, in which 71 persons had died and more than 80 had been injured.

An unauthorised building with illegal floors had collapsed after water had accumulated in the basement and weakened the foundation.

Buildings in this area are more prone to natural calamities as the foundation of most of these buildings is quite weak.

These structures have been constructed without building plans being sanctioned.

"We were sleeping when suddenly the bed and the furniture started shaking. There is a house next to ours, which is under construction and we were worried that it might collapse," said Kanchan, a resident of Lalita Park.

"Even after the building collapse, the building mafia has been continuously carrying out illegal construction, putting people's lives at risk," Kanchan added.

The residents claim that while a number of dangerous buildings were served notices by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) earlier, strengthening work is yet to be carried out there.

"A number of properties were served sealing notices while a few dangerous ones were identified by the MCD. However, nothing has been done to carry out improvement work. It seems they are once again waiting for a tragedy to take place," Suresh Singh, a resident of Ramesh Park in east Delhi.