Life in Posta goes on in shadow of fear

Kolkata: Nervous eyes look up every now and then. Some quicken their pace to cross this area as fast as they can, others tread warily, jumping at every thump or crack. Life in Posta under the intact stretch of the ill-fated Vivekananda flyover is a bundle of nerves.
Life cannot take a pause at Posta, the biggest and busiest trading hub of east India.Not even for fear. But you can see the anxiety - trauma even - on the faces of merchants and traders, porters, goods vehicle drivers and cleaners, traffic cops, police and residents.
Arjun Sahu and Tushar Mondal, who trade in ginger and garlic at the crossing of Strand Road and Nawab Lane, admit to being scared. "After the collapse, all of us fled, leaving our merchandise behind. For two days, we could not run our business. The fear of steel-girders crashing down on our heads kept haunting us. But life will not stop. So we came back. But every other second, my eyes dart up to look at the overhead beams," said Mondal.
In fact, the day before the collapse, concrete was cast on the steel girder right above them. "The next day, when we heard that the flyover collapsed after concrete casting, we were speechless. The disaster could have happened here instead of at that end," said Sahu, wide-eyed with fear.
Arun Burman, a trader from Andul who comes here every third day, now does so with a prayer. "For the first time in my 30 years' connection with this market, I skipped a day. The images of the collapsed flyover left me traumatized. Over the last six years, I have been seeing the bridge being built piece by piece. I could not imagine that it would be a manush marar kol (an exterminator)," he said.
Posta regulars never had much love for the flyover, anyway. Its construction had caused inconvenience to the traders, many of whom moved out in the last six years. The construction agencies barricaded a part of the road, making it impossible for a large section of traders to load or unload goods.
"The flyover threatened our livelihood. We protested against the construction. It will not benefit Posta. Not a single truck can move on the flyover, but government officials assured us that the road below will be free for goods vehicles," said Vinod Kumar, a trader who has grown the habit of looking up every now and then ever since the tragedy.
Debendra Yadav, who vends bel juice under the flyover, prays to Hanumanji for sparing him. "I am the only earning member of my family of eight. They will perish if I am not there," said Yadav, serving a glass to Raja Sheikh, a small-time trader. Raja said: "I lost all courage after losing my friend in the collapse. But pet ka sawal..." Lakhanlal Agarwal, another trader, wondered how two 'arms' of the flyover can bear such a huge burden. He stretched his hands, holding bags of supplies, and could not keep them up for long. "How can two iron hands bear such a huge load?" he asked.
The traffic cops managing the intersections appeared despondent. "We hoped that the flyover would be complete by the new deadline and we could breathe easy. Managing traffic here is the most frustrating job in the world. On top of that, there is now a constant anxiety," said one of them.