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Life on the move for train blast victims
Blast anniversary: A woman pays homage at a memorial for train blast victims at the Mahim station on Friday. —
MUMBAI: Sunita Jaiswal has a smile on her face. Two years after her husband was killed in the serial train blasts here, she has managed to get her life together and is now working with the Railways. “This is all due to the help by Mumbaikars,” she says.
Ms. Jaiswal’s younger son has a hole in the heart and needs to undergo surgery. Last year, a well-wisher paid for his second operation. He will have to undergo another one when he is five years. Her elder son Aryan goes to school and she is worried about the children’s education. “My brothers, my husband’s former company all give me money, but I need to take my younger son to Delhi for treatment. All that’s expensive. I don’t earn very much.”
The July 11, 2006 blasts killed 187 people and left 894 injured. Nearly 500 of them have serious injuries and face a bleak future. However, many of them have fought back and tried to make something of their life.
With a spinal cord badly damaged and his left side virtually paralysed, Rajesh Jha, 22, ranked first in his M.Com (Part I) examination last year and now works in a bank. He has lost hearing in the left ear. “My medicines alone cost Rs. 5,000- 6,000 a month. My father pays for that now,” he said.
Twenty-year-old Chirag Chavan is poised to become a chartered accountant. His results are to be announced on July12. Mr. Chirag, who is paralysed neck down, said he had no hopes of appearing for the examinations. But, thanks to the effort of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was given a wheelchair and arrangements were made for him to appear for the examination. Mr. Chirag was doing his articleship when he was injured in the blasts.
Preeti Sawant is overjoyed that her husband Parag, who is in a private hospital, is showing signs of improvement. Mr. Parag was in a coma due to his injures, but he has been improving for a while. Ms. Preeti, who gave birth to a baby girl three months after the blasts, said Mr. Parag was recognising people and would get better soon in a few months. She too has a job with the Railways.
Another victim Amit Singh continues to be in a coma.
The BJP on Friday held a meeting of victims and honoured 13 of them, who had come up in life despite the odds.
Rajaram Chavan has been given an artificial leg. Others like Allwyn D’ Cunha have changed jobs so that their injuries will not hamper their work. Mr. Allwyn, who underwent a series of operations in the right hand, now works in a petrol pump.
Metal detectors at the Churchgate station and closed circuit television serve as a reminder of the day which paralysed Mumbai. The blasts trial was stayed in February by the Supreme Court after three of the 13 accused challenged the application of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act to their case.
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