‘She remembers it all… she has nightmares’: Friend of woman injured in Uttarakhand accident

On June 15, Vandana was among a group of 26 heading to Chopta — a small village popular for its meadows and evergreen forests in Uttarakhand — in a tempo. She was accompanied by five friends — Mohini Pandey (27), Nikita Bhatt (26), Shubham Singh (26), Anjali Srivastava (27) and Smriti Sharma (28). They all lived in a paying guest accommodation in Noida Sector 51.

Around 11.30 pm, at a turn ahead of Rudraprayag city, the tempo driver lost control and the vehicle plunged into the Alaknanda River, killing 14 people. Of Vandana’s group of six, only she and Shubham survived.

Sadhana is keeping her spirits high, praying that her daughter will return home soon. “There is not a single part of her body which is not injured. She is in a lot of pain… it is unbearable to see her in this condition. My heart stops beating every time she aches. Doctors said they would have to perform some more surgeries. They have not yet said if she is out of danger yet,” she said.

Vandana was working in a private firm, said her mother, adding that the family has not received any assistance from the government to date.

Shubham, who works in an IT company in Noida, has been discharged from the hospital but is unable to talk for long due to her injuries.

Her childhood friend, Beenu Agrahari, said she was supposed to be a part of the trip too but decided not to go as she was preparing for next year’s NEET exam. “Shubham remembers everything — from the vehicle colliding with something and falling into the river. She has nightmares of the vehicle plunging…,” she said.

“She had asked me if I wanted to join the group for the trip… but I could not go… she had moved only four months ago. It was her first trip. From Noida, the six of them went to Delhi and from there, they took the tempo,” said Beenu. A resident of Gorakhpur, she is currently living in Allahabad to prepare for the medical entrance exam.

After Shubham was discharged from AIIMS Rishikesh Thursday, Beenu rushed to Lucknow to look after her friend, ensuring she took her medication on time.

She also alleged that the hospital where Shubham was first taken had barely any facilities to treat her, following which she was transferred to AIIMS Rishikesh. “It would take months for her to walk properly… Shubham has not received any compensation… her family had to foot the hospital bill,” she added.

“There cannot be a bigger pain than losing all your friends on a trip that you planned for months,” Beenu said.

Expressing concern over the incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had ordered a probe into the matter even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased.