Scarred for life,they struggle to move on

The second of four sisters,Rajni is planning to start looking for a job. “My in-laws may not agree. I will go to my parents’ house for a while,and then I will move back into my husband’s house. We had been not staying with his brother’s family for the last six months,” she said.

Rajni,who did not continue with her education after completing her schooling,says she will have to look for a sewing or cooking job. “I received Rs 6 lakh as compensation but I don’t know how long it will last me. I have to start planning ahead for my baby,” a worried Rajni said.

As a first step,Rajni’s father opened a bank account for her on Thursday,so the compensation money can be transferred there. “I lost my father when I was four years old,and I suffered. I won’t let any harm come to my grandson,” Rajni’s father said.

In Indra Enclave in Nangloi,40-year-old Pramod Chaurasia,who died a day after the blast,left behind four sons between the ages of 16 and 10. His ailing mother refuses to speak even now. Sixteen-year-old Amardeep,a Class XI student at an MCD school in Rohini,went to write the last paper of his half-yearly examinations on Thursday. “He had already missed two exams due to the ceremonies. On Thursday,he left to write the last paper without informing me. He knew I would have stopped him if I knew,” Chaurasia’s wife Bijli Devi said.

Still grappling with the loss of their father,the boys are now trying to convince their mother to let them continue their studies. The others,15-year-old Jaideep,13-year-old Vijaydeep and 10-year-old Anujdeep,have also missed their examinations.

The 36-year-old,who had come as a young bride from Gaya in Bihar to Delhi,says she has never stepped out of home. “What will I do with the compensation? The government cannot bring back my husband. Women in our families don’t work. How will we eat if I don’t make my sons manage the shop?” she asks.

For other people affected by the blast,the fear will take a lot more time going than the pain. Imran Ali (25),who runs a car parts outlet,says he still experiences a whistling sensation in his ears. “While I was riding my bike to work,my ear started bleeding. My ears still hurt,and there is this constant whistling sound,” Imran said.

Imran sustained an eardrum injury,and had to undergo a surgical procedure known as tympanoplasty.

Rahul pays surprise visit to RML patients

Rahul Gandhi on Friday paid a surprise visit to three blast survivors,still admitted at the orthopaedic emergency block in the RML Hospital trauma centre. The three,identified under the ‘minor injuries’ category,have received Rs 10,000 as compensation from the Delhi government,but no relief from the Centre.

Tarun Yadav,who was operated for a nail in the thigh,said,“This visit came completely unannounced. He walked in around 11.30 am and spent about 10-15 minutes with each of us. He did not say anything about the compensation.”