‘Twin-tower’ site turns into selfie zone

While the main entrance to the site of the demolished building was out of bounds with a police official on roundthe-clock duty, the side entrance with a view of the debris was accessible to the people. The barricades and two police officials ensured the visitors did not enter the site. 

Ganesan, a 64-year-old retired government official, arrived with his family, including his five-year-old granddaughter Anithra, to view the remains of the structure. Looking at the piled-up debris, he said, “My daughter lives here. We watched the implosion on TV and now, seeing it in front of us, we are in awe. A lot of things could have gone wrong with the demolition process. The fact that the officials have managed to bring down this structure, without any casualty or damages is commendable,” said the resident of Manali. 

M Murugesan, an employee at a nearby industrial unit, recalled the fateful Saturday, when ‘Faith’ collapsed on June 28 in 2014, killing more than 60 workers. “Along with a few others, I was taking shelter in one of the factories near the building as it was raining heavily that day. Suddenly, we heard the ground vibrate and saw people running out of the site. That’s when we realised that one of the towers had fallen. We immediately called Fire Services and left the place. Since all the shops and factories were closed on November 2, I came today to get a glimpse of the other structure,” he added. 

A group of employees from nearby offices too took the opportunity of the lunch hour, to click selfies in the backdrop of the demolished building. “The building was demolished in less than four seconds. So, we wanted to come to the spot and see for ourselves,” said 30-year-old Muthukumar, who works for an animation firm nearby. For 20-year-old college student Shiva and his friends, it was the thrill that drew them to the spot. “While watching the process on TV, we saw the building just fall upon itself and there was a cloud of dust! We wanted to take selfies together for social media,” laughed this MCA student of a college in the vicinity. 

A police official on duty said approximately, 200 people were visiting the site every hour. “The site has become a tourist spot, with people regularly coming to take selfies,” he said.