Hours after the Supertech twin towers were brought down in a controlled demolition, residents of the adjoining Supertech Emerald Court Society began to trickle back in, with some pleasantly surprised at the lack of damage and glad to see their worries laid to rest. For home caterer Ekta Gupta (45), it was a relief to see her home unscathed when she returned around 8 pm — the tower she lives in, Bluestone 2, is within 50 metres of the demolished towers. “There was no damage. We had taken precautions for windows and glass items using bubble wrap but it was not necessary — the plan went perfectly. The only issue we are facing is dust in the balcony,” she said. Her relief was bittersweet — Ekta is among those who had bought a flat in the demolished buildings. “We had taken a loan and bought one for Rs 40 lakh in Apex tower. We are still waiting for the compensation,” she said. Another resident, school uniform supplier Priyanka Gupta (47), was impressed by the relative cleanliness of the society — she, too, only had to deal with dust in her balcony. “The sky is clear, and I don’t have any difficulty breathing,” she said. Not everyone has returned though. Priyanka said, “In my tower, Emperor 3, I think I am one of the only people to return. There aren’t many people in the neighbouring tower either. I hear some residents made vacation plans.” At Aspire 4 tower, homemaker Mamta Agrawal (57) was all praise for residents of neighbouring society, Parsvnath Prestige, where she and many others stayed while waiting out the demolition. “They treated us very well. it was almost like a baraat.” Nothing in her home was damaged, though she now faces the task of unpacking household items. “We had packed and taken some things just in case, but it seems nothing went wrong.” Other residents are taking a more cautious approach. Nirmal Tandon (79), president of the Emerald Court Ladies Association, is waiting out the night in her daughter’s home in Silver City, instead of returning to her home in the Emperor 2 tower. She said, “We saw a lot of dust and heard window panes got cracked somewhere. But we’ve been told a lot of workers were sent to clean the society, so hopefully it will be clean. Tomorrow I will send my driver to check how the situation is, and how much dust is there. Being a senior citizen, one has to be health-conscious.”
