Vinay Kumar’s mom had tried her finest to cease her son from visiting Mata Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu. It might be very chilly and overcrowded, he had stated. But he protested. “This is the last time I can leave. Once I get a job in the army, there will be no time. I need to leave right now.”
On 29 December, the 21-year-old military aspirant left for the dargah in an evening practice from Faridabad, planning to return by January 2. On Saturday, Kumar’s household bought the information that he was among the many 12 individuals who died. There was a stampede late Friday night time. This was Kumar’s third go to there.
“Vinay was among the 12 people from our locality who had gone to the shrine. They were in a group of two. We made frantic calls to the others who were with him. One of them, Kapil, told us that he was injured, but was allowed to leave the hospital after first aid. He told us that Vinay was still admitted. After a while we were told that he is not there,” stated Mahesh Chand, Kumar’s inconsolable father and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) worker.
The household lives in Molarband Extension, Badarpur.
Barely 100 meters away in one other road, the Pandey household was mourning the lack of their family members. Sonu Pandey, a 24-year-old worker of a pen-drive producer in Okhla, additionally died in the identical accident. He bought married solely seven months in the past.
His grieving mom sat lined in a blanket, weeping intermittently within the lengthy silence.
“Just a few months again he had badly lower his ring finger whereas at work, which took a very long time to heal. Once it was cured, he stated that he wanted to go to the temple to thank God. But God took my son. He was my assist system in my outdated age. What will we do now?” stated his father Narendra Pandey.
“We got her married on May 24 last year. My daughter-in-law Aarti has been living mostly in Ghazipur, UP with her parents since her marriage, when she is completing her third year of B.Sc. More recently, we had rented a room on the third floor for him, as he had to go back home and stay here. Now the room is in disarray and everything seems lost. All my life, my wife did not leave him alone for a long time and now he is gone, completely alone, ”he stated.
At Kumar’s residence, his household remembers his ardour for becoming a member of the military.
“He had sat for the sepoy rank exam about 10-15 days back, and was eager to pray to Vaishno Devi to clear it. We are in so much shock and pain that we haven’t even told our wife that she is not. He is already suffering from kidney infection and nerve damage; She will not be able to take it,” Chand stated.
His 19-year-old daughter Geetanjali stated that she final spoke to her brother round 6.30 pm. “At that time he was just starting the chadha (climbing) and he told me that he would video call me once he reached there. But I never got that call. I was worried but I thought it might be a network problem. We tried again this morning but to no avail. I knew something was wrong but I never thought it would happen. We have to bear the brunt of this negligence on the part of the government. My brother will never come back now,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Pandey stated that no quantity of compensation can convey again his son, however added that the federal government ought to do its responsibility. “We are a poor family, and he was the earner. I am living unwell; I don’t know how long I can keep working. We do not want any such untoward incident to happen again. The government should ensure this,” he stated.
,
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
