Rescuer Bipin is unlikely to ever forget the afternoon of March 31, 2016, not least the cabbie buried under the debris of the flyover who passed away pleading for help. "When I reached the spot (of the collapse) with my civil defence team, I heard a taxi driver groaning. I could hear him say, ' bhaiyya mujhe nikalo' . He kept looking at us and he kept bleeding," Bipin said. "Once or twice, we tried to pull him out, but his pain was excruciating. I saw him die in front of my eyes. The cabbie's death acted as a major motivating factor for us rescuers. For the next two hours we hacked, sawed and hammered our way into debris," he added.

C B Dwivedi, the headmaster at a school barely 10 meters away, was evaluating answer sheets when he heard "a noise like a blast". "I rushed to the balcony, and saw debris and smoke. I rushed out of the building and asked the guard to shut the school's main gate. Each teacher was instructed to stop class and instead take care of the 350 students," he said. The teachers were doubtful about resuming classes soon. "Classes will begin once we are assured that the plank next to our school is stable," Dwivedi added.

Helpline numbers:
1070, 033-22143526, 033-22535185, 033-22145664State government has set up control room to help the public. Here are the numbers: 1070, 033-22143526/033-22535185/033-22145664.