When Block ‘A’ of Mansi Complex crumbled last year, killing 38 people, residents felt that life would never be the same again. Without homes, without family members, they did not know how they would cope. An year later, residents of Mansi are getting back on to their feet.

On January 26 this year, families that live in Mansi Complex are preparing to the lay the foundation stone for construction of a new Mansi ‘A’ block.

The last one year has been harsh one, but it has only steeled the resolve of the 40 families whose houses collapsed in the quake. “Initially we suffered a lot. There was a lot of pain around us. We had to take shelter at Visamo or at the house of some friend or relative. Later, we shifted to rented houses, which added to our expenses and put a strain on our financial resources,” recalls Nilesh Dave, who used to live on the fourth floor of Mansi.

“Then there was a lot of tension and disappointment since we had to fight for compensation. Now we are all waiting to get back to Mansi,” says Nilesh Dave.

“We plan to start with the reconstruction work on January 26 itself if all goes right. All residents are eager to start with the reconstruction as soon as possible,” says K S Goswami, a resident of Mansi Complex.

Architect Rahul Thakkar has designed the new ‘A’ block building, which is almost identical to ‘B’ block.

“Last year during this time, we were suddenly out on the road. Life had become miserable. We were all shaken but as the months passed we got back on tracks. We were also determined to put aside all those horrifying memories by not discussing what we had gone through. We would rather discuss some positive things that may happen to us in future,” said a resident.

While there are a few families which were hesitant about living at the same place again, they agreed when they saw the resolve of the others.

Jitendra Sanghvi, whose flat was on the ninth floor, said, “From the very beginning we were sure that we wanted the building to stand again and that we would not think twice about living in the complex. We have Rs 1,57,500 each-about 70 percent of the total compensation amount declared by the Government. We have talked to a few banks about the availability of loans and things appear positive.”

As the shops at Mansi Complex are part of some other cooperative society, they are not being counted as part of the building and reconstruction of these shops has already begun.

“There was no package of compensation declared for these shops and we had to raise the money ourselves. My business came to a halt after my office was destroyed and I had to taken loans from a few friends to restart it,” says a shop-owners.

The residents have planned a ‘havan’ on January 26 to pay homage to those who perished in the quake.

A residents of the building, who lost a family member in the quake, said that though they do feel the loss of their family members, they are their biggest inspiration.

“It’s because of their blessings that there are chances that the building will stand once again,” adds Sanghvi.