Two blast victims hover between life, death

HYDERABAD: He almost died like his best friend, holding a cup of tea in his hand. Now his every single breath is being counted as a second chance. Survival of 25-year-old MBA graduate Amrutha Ravi, who wanted to be a police officer, is slim, doctors say, but his family has not lost hope.
More than a week after he was grievously injured in the first bomb blast at Dilsukhnagar, Ravi has not regained consciousness.He was so close to the bomb tied to a bicycle that his stomach got ruptured as aluminum sheets pierced his intestines. He suffered numerous fractures of both upper and lower limbs. His left knee cap is gone, muscles disappeared and his left palm has a big hole in it.
"But he is still breathing and as long as he does, we have hope," said Dr Surender Reddy, a senior general surgeon, attending on Ravi. Having undergone multiple surgeries and blood transfusions, Ravi is on ventilator support at Yashoda.
An MBA graduate, he attended a job interview at a private firm that afternoon along with his best friend Tirupathi. The duo returned tired to the room and after a change of clothes set out to have tea at Anand Tiffin Centre. They were near the billing counter, when the blast ripped through the area killing Tirupathi and leaving Ravi with near-fatal injuries all over the body.
"He has high fever sometimes going up to 107 degrees. However, he is responding to painful stimulation. We cannot say anything as of now. We are putting all efforts to save him," said Dr Reddy. "We are expecting him to open his eyes in a day or two," he added.
A native of Karimnagar district, Ravi along with his elder brother Amrutha Kumar, had also taken the SI examination and was confident he would crack it. He was staying in a rented room, close to Konark theatre.
"I had asked him to come back to Karimnagar. He had even packed his bags and was to start that night," said Amrutha Kumar. "They would have left the tiffin centre in a matter of two minutes but destiny had something else in store," a shattered Kumar added.
Condition of Pandu Ranga Reddy, 21, another blast victim, who is also admitted in the same hospital, remains critical. Reddy's left eye is completely damaged and left leg has been amputated. He has severe difficulty with his left hand. Reddy was in shock when he was admitted to the hospital.
A B Tech final year student and eldest of the two sons of farmer M Janardhan Reddy, he secured 80% marks in his first semester. Janardhan Reddy said that he is conscious and talking but beyond that he is depressed and physically handicapped.
"He is asking me repeatedly what will happen to his life and career plans. He is constantly asking me whether the government will help victims like him?" said a sobbing Janardhan Reddy.