Bangalore: Gone was the swanky wood polished
panels and the fragrance of the gentle air freshener - all that
greeted survivors and inmates of Carlton Towers who bravely
entered it today was the lingering odour of smoke, thick
soot-laden interiors and charred remains of a tragic incident.
"It is not the same anymore", laments Srikant, an employee
of an office located on the seventh floor of Carlton Tower
where a fire claimed nine lives on February 23.
"I no longer feel safe working here", he says emerging from
the office after collecting all important office documents.
People carefuly walked or jumped over broken furniture,
shards of glass, minding their steps and sending a silent
prayer up for having survived.
"Business has come to a standstill with all machinery
locked inside. The courier man has stop delivering mails",
says Srikant, whose office is now planning to relocate.
"We personally go and collect our mail from the courier
office, because we do not want our customers to suffer", he
said. "We are incurring a daily loss", he says.
He said the owners and the association had collected hefty
sums from the occupants, with their office paying nearly Rs
50,000 for 800 square feet.
"Today none of those involved with the management of the
building are to be spotted nor has anyone come forward to bail
us out and help us to begin work", Srikant who came out of the
building just before the blaze, said.
-PTI
