Delhi building collapse: Homes & many lives crumbled like cards

NEW DELHI: In the blink of an eye, the joyous anticipation of wedding bells turned into a mournful dirge for Ahmad's family. Just as they had begun the search for the perfect match for Danish and Neha, tragedy struck — on Friday night, the building they called home came crashing down.
Among the lives lost were Danish, the family's sole breadwinner, and his younger brother, Naved, leaving behind a family shattered in every sense of the word.


Shahid Ahmad and his wife, Rehana, along with their daughter, Neha Praveen, were injured in the incident. The couple was unaware of their son's death.
Ahmad had lost his sight in a chemical accident years ago and his elder son Danish had shouldered the responsibility of supporting the family. Now the son is gone, leaving the family in financial uncertainty.
As relatives gathered at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital on Saturday, hoping against hope that their kin had been rescued, the Ahmad family faced the unbearable reality. Neha, who had miraculously survived, was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.
The weddings the Ahmads had been looking forward to were reduced to rubble. "The family had begun searching for a groom for Neha and a bride for Danish had even saved money, all of which was lost in the disaster. The family had lived in the building for over 10 years.," said Shehazad Ahmad, their relative.

Street No. 1 in Shakti Vihar, Mustafabad, was plunged into mourning, with cries and screams filling the night air. According to residents, the building that collapsed like a pack of cards was originally built around 20 years ago. Building owner Tehsin lived on the first floor, while the ground floor had shops. Eight of Tehsin's family, including himself, perished in the tragedy.
Mohammad Afzal, a neighbour, said that Tehsin and one of sons had a scrap business. "Earlier, the building had only two floors, but seven or eight years ago, they had added two more floors," he said.
Tehsin's wife and son were rescued. "One of his sons, Chand, ran out quickly when the building started falling and alerted other family members. But proved too late for some," said Afzal.
Wasim, whose sister Chandni was married to Chand (Tehsin's son), recalled his last conversation with her was around 11pm on Friday. Everything was normal, but soon after he received a phone call about the incident.
"We had already lost our son Aas Mohammad in the northeast Delhi riots in 2020," mourned Wasim, exclaiming that only because Aas' family was at a wedding that they survived.
Ishaq, 75, another family member who was visiting the children of Tehsin's son Nazeem was also among the victims.
At GTB Hospital, as ambulances arrived, families rushed towards them, hoping their loved ones had come. Among them was Chand, who hadn't been informed by his relatives about the deaths of his family members.
Reshma and her husband Ahmed Nabi, a tailor, and their children, Alfez, Aliya and Tanu, were rescued from the debris. However, Reshma died during treatment though the others survived.
"For the past three years, Reshma's family had been living in the house and had already paid advance rent," said a relative, Alim. "Nabi's health was deteriorating, so his son Alfez dropped out of school and started working." The younger girls are both studying.