Techies of Hinjewadi rally to aid migrant child after road accident in Pune

Pune: The daily routine of software professionals in Pune's Hinjewadi — Maharashtra's largest IT park — comes with well-known challenges. From lacking civic infrastructure to unending traffic woes, techies are left to battle a host of obstacles amid administrative inaction.Yet recently these techies, who flock here from across the country and world, left their worries behind and showed a remarkable amount of heart as they rallied together to salvage the future of a young migrant teenager following a road accident.
As the child struggled to get admitted to a hospital while facing the risk of amputation, the tide turned in his favour when members of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) stepped in. From ensuring he was admitted to a good facility to crowdfunding his fees, visiting him for support and coordinating with his doctor about treatment, a group of four employees — and hundreds of others behind them — prevented lifelong trauma for the teenager. Around 10.30am on Jan 25, 15-year-old Vishal Kumar, a native of Kamar village in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, was standing with a few other children by the roadside near Megapolis Starlet society in Hinjewadi Phase 3. As a truck transporting goods descended the slope here, Vishal suddenly fell onto the road. Unable to brake immediately, the heavy vehicle went over the young boy's right leg, leaving him writhing with pain. IT employee Priyank Dubey, a member of FITE, witnessed the accident. He sprang to help with other bystanders, and the child was rushed to hospital. However, Dubey could not shake off his concern. He circulated news of the incident on FITE WhatsApp groups, asking for assistance for the impoverished child. Like a well-oiled machine, a handful of good Samaritans jumped into action. Ashutosh Pandey, another IT professional and FITE core-member, saw Dubey's text and called the hospital. "I was told the child had been referred to another hospital and luckily, they gave me his relative's contact number. I spoke to the latter and assured him that he could reach out to for any help. In the evening, I checked in again and found out that Vishal was still waiting to get admitted. His lack of documentation and funds was a big reason. I spoke to a few FITE members, and we decided to start crowdfunding right away. Little did we know that this was just the beginning," Pandey said. Another group member called up Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) commissioner Yogesh Mhase, who reached out to Dr Parag Sancheti, chairman and managing director of Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. Within hours, Vishal was admitted to the institute. "His right leg's bones were completely crushed and there was a lot of muscle damage too. Doctors were unsure they would be able to save the limb," recollected Prashant Pandit, an IT employee and secretary at FITE. Ten days later, Vishal was scheduled for another surgery. His parents — both casual workers — reached from Mathura three days post-accident, with Rs100 in their pockets. In the background, Pandit had been coordinating with Infosys, which alongside the Hinjewadi Industries Association (HIA) contributed Rs2.5 lakh for Vishal as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. "By this time, we managed to crowdfund Rs3 lakh from numerous IT professionals. We also got Rs50,000 from the driver who hit Vishal. Still, we were short of Rs2.5 lakh for the bills, which HIA and Infosys then helped with," added Pandit. It took FITE a week to collect Rs3 lakh from over 200 employees of different companies. Donations started from Rs10 to Rs25,000, and there were also a few contributions from Bahrain and Singapore, besides different Indian cities. The techies also tried availing of govt schemes to aid Vishal. However, due to his lack of documentation and bank account, they were unable to do so. "We raised Rs6 lakh in total, including the amount from the truck driver, for Vishal's treatment," said Pavanjeet Mane, Maharashtra president for FITE. He added, "Dr Sancheti was kind enough to waive Rs2.4 lakh from the fee. Whatever remaining funds we had after paying his hospital and medicine bills were used for his ambulance back home and to help in treatment after discharge. After two surgeries, doctors said he will be able to walk again, but it will take time to heal. We are in constant touch with his family." Officers from Hinjewadi police station including Rahul Sonawane, Kande and Balaji Pandhare, as well as deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Vivek Patil were regularly following up and ensuring due diligence with the driver, added Mane. Sundar Chavan, Vishal's relative who works in Pune, with whom the boy was living, said he is doing much better. "We reached Kamar on Feb 15. Vishal's parents work in a kiln factory and had sent him to stay with me so that he gets two proper meals a day at least. He is not my blood relative, but we are from the same village and our families have known each other for long. The accident was deeply unfortunate. Had it not been for these good people, Vishal could have lost his leg," Chavan said. Speaking from a hospital in Mathura, Vishal told TOI, "I will never forget the kindness of strangers. There was a lot of pain, but I am the eldest of six siblings, so I am used to being tough. My parents were also not there, so I had to be strong. I was in Pune only for four months before the accident. I am grateful to all who helped me. They never let me miss the fact that my parents were not present at the time. Doctors have still not told me if my leg is okay or if I will walk again. But I think I will be fine. It helps to believe that all will be well." Pandit said, "Infrastructure and the govt system failed Vishal, but we did not want to. This was a first-of-its-kind case for FITE. Usually, we deal with civic and labour court issues. We are grateful that things worked out. Vishal is just a teenager. We cannot begin to imagine what could have been an alternative ending to his story."