Two years ago on this day (August 24), Tarique Garden, a ground plus five storey residential building in Mahad, collapsed, claiming 16 lives and injuring nine others. The survivors are still reeling under the impact as they are left without a roof over their heads as they cannot construct a new building on the plot unless the plot owner gives his consent. The worst part, however, is that the insurance companies rejected the flat owner’s insurance claims on the grounds that the crash was a ‘man made disaster’ and ‘not a natural calamity’. 

And yet, some residents still continue paying EMIs for the home loans they took. Amjad Hawa Vahoor, a 45-year-old businessman, had taken a loan of R10 lakh from SBI for his 980-sq feet 2BHK flat. He said, “I paid EMIs to the bank till March this year, even after the building crashed. I have finally cleared the dues, but don’t have a house.”