The hollow, charred remains of the Aliganj building where a blaze claimed 15 lives now stand as a memorial and an eerie reminder of loss. A man laid flowers outside, a survivor's friend came to collect his motorcycle, and curious onlookers clicked pictures. The site of one of Lucknow's deadliest fire tragedies in recent years is cordoned off with yellow police tape.
Visitors pay tribute and retrieve belongings
Around Tuesday midnight, a man came with flowers and a photograph of the victims. He placed the photograph on a bench outside the building and paid tributes before leaving quietly. Also among the visitors were friends of Bhuvan Srivastava, one of the few who managed to escape the fire by sliding down a wire. One friend said they had come to retrieve Srivastava's motorcycle, which had remained at the spot since Monday after he was directly taken to the hospital.
Police personnel at the site said belongings were being returned only after proper verification of identity documents. Officers also said that several unattended two-wheelers still parked near the building would be shifted to a secure location before being handed over to their owners.
Eerie atmosphere and police presence
A policeman manning the blackened building said, "It seems kind of spooky now, especially at night." Traffic passing by the building on Usha Mehta Marg slowed down or stopped, with many quickly pulling out their mobile phones and craning their necks to click pictures or record videos of the gutted building. Some were even seen making group calls to their families and friends. The steady stream of visitors kept police personnel on their toes. Around eight to 10 policemen deployed at the spot were frequently seen stepping onto the road to keep the traffic moving.
Onlookers express grief and hope for change
Among those who stopped was a student, Anubhav Gupta. "I had followed news reports and online coverage of the tragedy. I was returning after visiting the Hanuman Setu temple and thought of stopping here to see the place where such a horrific incident occurred," Gupta said. "It is deeply painful to learn that people got trapped with no proper way out. I hope lessons are learnt and better arrangements are made so that such incidents do not recur," he added.
Vijay, a tailor, who had also visited the site shortly after the fire on Monday, returned on Tuesday night. "People are curious about what happened here. There was little traffic after the incident because of restrictions, but after some barricading was removed, people have again started stopping to take photographs and videos," he said. Ram Shankar took a detour on his way home from work to see "the place where such a terrible incident occurred." "The way people lost their lives is heartbreaking," he said.
Recalling the tragedy and aftermath
A group of local youths present near the site recalled how residents had rushed to help those inside the building after the fire broke out, but were helpless because of the intensity of the blaze. The fire broke out in the three-storey building, which housed an animation centre and a pet shop, on Monday afternoon. Nine people were injured in the incident. Four people, including the building owner, have been arrested.
The Lucknow Development Authority on Wednesday pasted a notice on the building over alleged violation of building bylaws and unauthorised use of the premises, which had been approved for residential purposes. After the statutory period expires, the building could be demolished, officials said.
