Dilsukhnagar blast victims recall the gruesome tragedy

One year after the blasts, the survivors demand the promised compensation from govt

Hyderabad: The bloodbath witnessed on the fateful day of Disukhnagar twin bomb blasts is still afresh in the memories of many survivors. The trail of destruction left by the blasts that ripped through the bustling business locality of Dilsukhnagar on February 21 last year is sending shivers down the spines of the survivors and the families of the victims.

As many as 18 persons, including three college students, were killed and at least 119 persons injured.

Recalling the tragic day, 27-year-old Yadagiri, one of the survivors, told The Hans India, “I saw the worst horrifying scenes that I ever witnessed in my life; it was just gruesome. I had lost my left eye. I used to eke out my living as a labourer in Dilsukhnagar area, but after that incident, there was so much fear and torment in my mind that I moved to BHEL area in search of livelihood, but I couldn’t win the battle against my problems.”

The government’s lackadaisical approach left him in the lurch. The State government sponsored his operation, but his family was asked to bear the cost of medicines.

This is not the lone case, 22-year-old Ranapratap of LB Nagar shares similar story of deprivation. The engineering student lost his hearing due to the blast.

“I was thrown on to the ground due to the impact of the blast. I survived with injuries on my head and right calf. Four pellets were removed which got lodged in my body.

After that, the officials shifted me to ENT Hospital on the same day. My parents are running from pillar to post for the past six months for medical aid that was promised by the State government but to no avail,” he said.

“I approached the District Collector’s and MLA’s office in Nalgonda, but after their negative response, I lost all hope for my son. I spent all my money on my son’s treatment and now he has to live the rest of his life with deafness,” lamented Ranaprataps’s father.

“My sister Sravani, who was studying engineering, sustained severe injuries. She cannot feed herself and she has to take antibiotics daily, which are costly. She still has to undergo two more surgeries. You can easily estimate how much money we have to spend on all these things. And my father is an auto driver,” said Sravani’s brother Harinath.

With the passage of time, the twin blasts seem to have become completely forgotten in the bifurcation frenzy. With bifurcation issues taking precedence, security of the people had been pushed to the corner.

The AP Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Act, 2013′ which was enacted by the government makes it mandatory for all establishments to provide access controls and install CCTV cameras.

But investigations and decoy operations reveal that these areas are ridden with ill-trained staffers, defunct CCTV cameras, low-level of preparedness and shoddy maintenance. No lessons learnt from the past.

Several of the victims and their families demand the Government to extend the help which it had promised. According to the victims, some of them did not receive the compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the Central government.

With the haunting memories and loss of their dear ones these families are awaiting the help sooner rather than later.