Kin wait for compensation, count their losses

New Delhi: For each victim’s family, the Saidulajab building collapse has brought to the fore a different set of challenges.

The family of Dr Ravi Prakash Verma said they were contacted for Rs 5 lakh compensation from govt of UP, as he was from that state. However, Delhi or central govt has not checked on them.

The family of engineer Nalin Rai said they spent Rs 32,000 to hire an ambulance to take his body to his native village in Bihar. Baikunth Nath, Nalin’s uncle, said the family has neither received any compensation nor been contacted by authorities.

The family of Dr Ekta said no govt official had reached out to them.

Prateek, the son-in-law of the deceased mess owner, Parvati, said the family was struggling not only to cope with her loss, but also with the financial burden that they now have to shoulder. He said Parvati and her husband, Jairaj, earned enough from the mess to pay a monthly rent of nearly Rs 1 lakh for the space with just a tin shed.

“The mess was doing well. Hundreds of students came here every day. Now all the utensils, equipment and everything else is gone. Only my father-in-law is left. How are we supposed to start from scratch?” Prateek asked. He, too, said that no govt representative had reached out to the family. “We want justice and compensation for what the family has lost,” he said.

Ravi’s father Ram Prakash Verma said he would move court to ensure that the accused get punishment. “It is my son today, but I want to ensure that no one else’s son, who has gone to study away from home, suffers the same fate,” he said.

Of the five injured, three have been released. She was critically injured. Her condition was reported to be stable, although she has still not been moved out of the trauma centre’s red zone.

Another injured person, Kshitij Pratap of Noida’s Jal Vayu Vihar, was found trapped under the debris by his brother Rahul. When his brother called Kshitij’s phone the first time, there was no response first. But the second time when Rahul dialled, Kshitij took the call and cried out for help. Rahul and another brother, Adik, searched for him in the mound of rubble and managed to rescue Kshitij.