‘No compensation’ for 11 victims who suffered minor injuries

“When we spoke to the officials on Friday,they said that a decision on compensation for those who suffered minor injuries is yet to be taken by the Collector’s Office and the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). However,he told us that such victims will most probably not receive cheques,” said Malik Abdul Salaam of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.

These 11 survivors are struggling to pick up the pieces and find a secure source of livelihood. Mirza Mehmood Baig,who escaped being crushed under a large slab of cement,says his family is helpless without some sort of compensation. “My house is destroyed. There are only two things I can now reclaim — my school certificate and gas cylinders. All our cash,and savings from a milk supplying business,my wife’s jewellery are gone,” he says. He was discharged from Kalwa hospital on Saturday and has been living with a friend since.

Malik added that the 11 survivors had lost all their belongings in the wreckage save for the clothes on their backs. “The government should at least give them Rs 30,000 each. They have no means of surviving right now and have gone to live with relatives. The relatives are too poor to help them. We will meet the collector Tuesday,” he said.

Malik said the condition of Mohammad Syed Ansari at Vashi Municipal Hospital was no better. “He works as a driver in Shilphata. Of his six children,three were found dead. The other children and his wife Zainab are undergoing treatment. They are being supported by Zainab’s parents,but they are not well-off,” he said.