But it was, for reasons beyond belief and comprehension. For the past two years, I have been working the 5 am shift for the channel – anchoring and then reporting from ground zero after my bulletins. Sunday, September 6, was meant to be no exception to this protocol.
A building in Satya Niketan had collapsed. The flash on our reporters’ group did not even hint at the scale of devastation that I was about to witness. Soon, I began giving lives from the car, hoping, praying that the tragedy wouldn’t be so grim. With a glimmer of hope in my eyes, my cameraperson Momin and I rushed to the spot. We were amongst the first few journalists on ground. What we saw next was total chaos. Ambulances, NDRF, police, fire brigade, and MCD officials were on the spot. A sea of people had come in to see the extent of the tragedy. What was once a multi-storeyed structure lay as pure debris before our eyes. Bulldozers moved through the narrow lanes as officials kept pushing people aside to make way. Often, officials had to physically intervene and diffuse scuffles that broke out while the operations were underway. Photo Credit: PTI One related yet inalienable detail was that the incident occurred right in time for the DUSU elections, so student leaders were present in large numbers. Occasionally, tempers flared and arguments even occurred. Over the next few hours, we saw leaders from across the political spectrum come in to assess the situation. Issuing advisories on loudspeakers, the NDRF kept digging their way in to reach all those who were trapped. Despite hours having passed since the tragedy, the authorities faced numerous difficulties reaching those trapped beneath the rubble. The incident and the gory visuals of students crying out for help, being taken away on stretchers, has cast a shadow on the memory of the national capital forever. Occurring shortly after the Prime Minister’s visit to DU and ahead of BRICS Summit in the capital, the incident poses serious questions, the most important being: How many more such incidents do we need to learn from?
At 2:15 pm, as I was heading back home after taking a few political reactions, I got a call. Promoted Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com My cameraperson and I reported continuously for over 8-hours.
