Not just the pillar that crashed

15 acres of one of the country’s most renowned educational institutions on one side, 3 acres of a school that enrolls students from kindergarten till twelfth standard on the other and the construction site of the badarpur metro line in the middle is the sight that greets you when you take a left from frank Anthony school, lajpat nagar.
The construction site is home to the two recent metro accidents in delhi. The crashing of pillar 67 and the toppling of three cranes has not only created a storm in E Sreedharan’s life or a water problem in Zamrudpur but has changed the face of life for those whose existence revolves around that very pillar.
The 50 years old pottery and plants shop owners are not alone with their pain. Hira Lal has stood on the same spot right outside blue bells school international for the past 20 years. He owns a chilled water-providing cart. His father had passed it on to him. Now he will have to move. “I will have to move my cart. I have no option. It is not safe anymore. I have a family to think of.” Says Lal.
Mahindar is another casualty. He is a rickshaw puller. He will have to relocate from the spot he claims gets him the largest share of his day’s earning. While negotiating the price with his next passenger he says, “I cannot stand outside the college gate anymore. I will have to move my rickshaw till the end of the street. I get the maximum number of passengers from here but the police have strictly advised us to move and we will comply as it for our safety more than anything else.”
Lady Shri Ram College for Women has 2000 (approx.) students and hostel facility for 300 of them. It is merely 50 feet (approx.) away from the construction site. As the college opens its gates for students as the new academic year begins, they are coming but not without reservations. “It is not just the students who are scared. I had to spend a lot of time convincing my 73 years old grandmother who resides in Chandigarh that the college will be safe and I cannot switch no matter what.” says Asmita Prabhakar who is starting her first year in the political science department of LSR.
Smitana Saikia, the student’s Union president recalls the large number of phone calls received before the orientation ceremony. “The parents were frantic. Justifiably so.”
Blue Bells School International has swiftly worked out the security plan and wants the routine to go on smoothly. Rukma Jyoti, a class 11th student is back at school but doesn’t think anyone will forget the accident. “The cranes crashed during lunch break. There was a huge chaos. It was maddening. Thankfully it was controlled quickly as the number of students present on Monday was less as the Sunday accident had left too many shaken.”
As people embrace the next day of their lives there are many who are still stuck in that moment.