Shanty kid: ‘Tumko pata hai ek dum girega ye dhaad dhaad?’

Noida: Sitting on the boundary wall of a park opposite the Supertech’s twin towers to be demolished on Sunday afternoon, 14-yearold Mohammad Zulfiqar is animatedly explaining to his friends how the buildings will collapse like a pack of cards.

“We will come early on Sunday to avoid the crowd and get this best spot. It’s a great view from here,” Irfan (10) chimes in as they look at the 100-metre structures from a distance.

Unmindful of the complexities of the world of the grown-ups, Ali, Irfan and many other children living in shanties in a nearby village Gejha flanking the towers are anticipating a visual spectacle.

Others like 16-yearold Sabina Khanam, whose mother works in a flat in Supertech Emerald Court, adjacent to the twin towers, feel it is ironic that the buildings are being demolished when many do not have a roof on their heads.

“Tumko pata hai ek dum girega ye dhaad dhad dhad” (do you know it will collapse like a house of cards), Zulfiqar tells his friends.

Nahid (11) talks about the large number of police and media personnel staking out and how he has only seen such things happening on TV. “We have heard that an enormous quantity of explosives has been set up in the buildings to blow them up. I have only seen such scenes in movies but never in real life, so I can’t miss the chance to watch it,” Nahid said.

“Many people do not have homes and have to spend nights on the footpath but here authorities are demolishing flats and buildings. How can I feel happy or excited about this exercise?” Sabina Khanam said.

Another resident of the area, Majeed Alam, 18, said, “I see no point in demolishing this almost complete building. Though there must have been irregularities, I think authorities should have come up with another plan rather than demolishing it. It could have housed many like us who don’t have proper homes,” he said. (PTI)