Uphaar 8212; Prayers punctuate grief

NEW DELHI, JUNE 13: ....Until justice rolls down like water Righteousness like a mighty streamThe two lines inscribed on the black granit...

NEW DELHI, JUNE 13: 8230;.Until justice rolls down like water
Righteousness like a mighty stream
The two lines inscribed on the black granite wall that marks the memorial outside Uphaar cinema hall, where 59 lost their lives in a devastating fire this day two years ago, sum up the feelings and expectations of all the affected. A stream of water continuously flows on the round structure in front of the wall bearing the names of all those 59 persons. This stream is supposed to serve as a constant reminder 8212; of the pain and trauma that victims8217; families are going through. And the hope for justice that they sustain amidst the darkness of despair.

The sleepy market, where the memorial Park 8220;Smriti Upvan8221; is located, came alive at 9 a.m. with chants of Ram Dhun, the Gayatri mantra and Gurbani. For the next hour-and-a-half, the 29 families who lost their kin kept coming in to pay floral tributes to the people they prefer to call martyrs.

8220;Their sacrifice will not go waste. We will see to it that the culprits are brought to book and public buildings are made safer to prevent recurrence of such disasters,8221; say Shekhar and Neelam Krishnamoorthy, a couple who lost their teenaged children and are now the driving force behind the Association for Victims of Uphaar Tragedy AVUT. Bouquets of red roses, marigolds and motias in their hands, the families got an opportunity to share their grief.

Satya Pal Sudan, for instance, did not even know that his son and daughter and their respective families 8212; seven members in all 8212; were inside the hall when the tragedy took place. He was under the impression that the children were eating out and then going to India Gate for some fun. 8220;In the late evening English news bulletin on TV I saw all of them, dead,8221; he recalls. The scene left him paralysed.

Rajender Tanwar of Mehrauli, whose three brothers died while saving each other in the smoke filled cinema hall, is now left to take care of their widows and six children. Each time he looks at them, he seethes with anger at the cinema hall owners.

8220;This is where I saw my brothers alive last time. I wouldn8217;t have come here again. But the memorial has given me a reason to come back and remind myself that more brothers will be lost until we force the government to act,8221; he says.

The pent-up anger was channelised when last year AVUT came up with the idea of setting up a memorial. They approached the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD and managed to get the 80 square metre patch outside Uphaar allotted to them on a 3-year development and maintenance lease. It was tastefully landscaped and turned into its present shape.

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Though little has changed on the fire safety front since the disaster, AVUT has doffedly managed to exert constant pressure on the government machinery. Advocate Sultan Singh, who is among the panel currently handling court cases on behalf of AVUT, maintains that whatever little awareness has been created on fire safety has been due to AVUT8217;s efforts. 8220;Otherwise, the public memory is very short,8221; he says.

As the visitors began leaving Smriti Upvan around 10.30 a.m., something eeries and disquieting happened. Many women were mildy sobbing hwen they into their ears came a song being played on the FM channel: 8220;Sandeshe Aate Hain, Hamein Tadpate Hain8230;..Ke Ghar Kab Aayoge8221;. It ws a melody from Border, the same film that was being played on Uphaar and whose tragic last scene was never on the script.