Simple people who were going about their daily lives

Shirish Vaktania Prasun Choudhari and Apoorva AgasheMany who lost their lives in the Ghatkopar billboard collapse were their familiesrsquo sole breadwinners and their dependents who are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy are shattered Though the state government has assured the victimsrsquo kin of Rs 5 lakh in compensation the families say this wonrsquot suffice in the long runAll the money in the world canrsquot take away the pain of those who have been rendered childless and orphan due to the mishap midday spoke with some of the families that have been left bereaved who opened up about the loved ones they have been cruelly robbed of and called for justice These are some of the lives that were lostDilip Ramsundar Paswan 38This father of three who resided at MIDC Andheri East was an optical fibre engineer He along with two colleagues got trapped inside a company car after the billboard collapsed on the petrol pump on May 13 Paswan died on the spot after sustaining head injuriesThe sole breadwinner of his family Paswan is survived by his wife Punita and children Shikha 5 Amrita 7 and fourmonthold Shuk Demanding justice for her family Punita told midday that railway officials must be made accountable as the illegal banner was installed on the Government Railway Police landShe said ldquoI lost my husband and the father of my children I received a call from his colleagues while I was at home informing me about the accident When I reached the hospital I found my husband had passed away I donrsquot know how I will manage Our entire family is shattered and all happiness has been taken away by this incident I urge the government to take strict action against those responsible I also appeal to the public to hold the authorities accountablerdquoldquoI request the Railway Police to provide employment for our family to sustain itself While we received compensation from the government it wonrsquot suffice for a lifetime I need a job to support my family and the government should assist with this The government should also ensure my children receive free educationrdquo Punita addedDebris at the site of the Bharat Petroleum pump in Ghatkopar EastRaju Paswan brother of the deceased said ldquoCurrently Diliprsquos family is in the village where the last rites are being conducted My brother was overjoyed after the birth of his baby boy just four months ago The entire family is devastated The government must provide them with employmentrdquoSuraj Mahesh Chauhan 19This college student used to work as a labourer daily wage basis to support his education His cousin Ajay Chauhan stated ldquoSuraj used to often assist his uncle Dhanesh Chauhan who was also killed in mishap Both his siblings are unmarried and he was the youngest of them On the day of the incident Dhanesh and Suraj were travelling from Kurla to Mulund for some fabrication work My uncle Dhanesh had informed his wife that they were travelling to Mulund in a cab The family was informed by the shop owner whom they the deceased were working for after the incident that both were to stop at a gas station to refill and also informed the family to check on them as the phone of the driver accompanying them was unreachablerdquoHe added ldquoBoth their phones were unreachable as well This caused a panic as we had come to know of the tragedy in Ghatkopar We were worried as they were travelling on the Eastern Express Highway and we knew that the hoarding had collapsed on the same route Deepak the eldest brother of the deceased rushed to the spot to check but there was a lot of chaos He then went to Rajawadi hospital where they were taking the injured and deceased but to no avail He could not find them and their phones were still unreachable Due to the gravity of the disaster it was very difficult to recognise the faces of people who were pulled outrdquoHe continued ldquoAround 3 am my elder uncle the father of the deceased and Deepak visited Rajawadi hospital again At this time they could recognise the bodies of both Suraj and Danesh It was later revealed that both their bodies were brought to Rajawadi hospital around 2 am My elder uncle father of Suraj had come to Mumbai around 15 years back from Bihar and were living here in a rented houserdquoHe added ldquoMy uncle Dhanesh and brother Suraj were loving individuals The BMC should take action against all such illegal hoardings before the rains actually arrive or this sort of mishap can occur again claiming the lives of many more and devastating other familiesrdquoMohammad Akram Siddhiqui 48An auto driver Siddhiqui resided in Kamraj Nagar in Ghatkopar East with his wife Shamin Banu and daughter Shabnam Banu 18 Siddhiqui got trapped under the hoarding while waiting in line to refill CNG in his auto The family has taken his body to Prayagraj UP for his last ritesSiddhiquirsquos wife Shamin Banu said ldquoThat banner took away our world My husband was a hardworking man who provided education for our daughter and supported the household On May 13 he called me around 330 pm saying he would be home soon However he stopped responding to calls after that By 6 pm when the storm hit the city I was deeply worried about himrdquo ldquoLate in the evening we received a call from the police informing us that my husband had been admitted to Rajawadi hospital I rushed there only to find that he had passed awayrdquo she saidldquoThe government should take action against the culprits involved as well as the authorities who permitted this illegal hoarding My husbandrsquos auto has been completely damaged We urge the government to provide jobs to family members so that we can survive The compensation amount is insufficient The Railways should also take responsibility and offer employment along with compensation as the incident occurred on their premises I also request the government to provide waive my daughterrsquos college feesrdquo she saidBharat Rathod 25The youth worked as a medicine distributor and was the sole breadwinner of his joint family Rathod lived in Ganesh Chowk Golibar Road Ghatkopar The family has claimed that they have received R4 lakh of the amount announced by the government ldquoBharat worked very hard We demand that his brother Hitesh be given a job by the railway department or by the BMCrdquo Ganesh Rathod the deceasedrsquos paternal uncleThe entire Ganesh Chowk locality wore a mournful look and banners had been set up eulogising the youth ldquoBharat was a simple man and had no bad habits He used to say that he wanted to improve his familyrsquos condition and revamp his house He would take part in the societyrsquos activities and was known as Gopala as he was helpful by naturerdquo said Anand Morey a member of Shree Ganesh Sarvajanik Utsav MandalAccording to the Ganesh Chowk resident the family received a call from Bharatrsquos office informing them that he was present at the petrol pump when the incident took place ldquoBharat was accompanied by a colleague who informed the office that both were trapped under rubble By the time we reached the spot the authorities told us that the victims had been taken to Rajawadi hospital When we went there Bharat was nowhere to be found We were about to leave for Sion hospital to check whether he was taken there but at 830 pm an ambulance arrived and Bharat was inside it The doctors declared him dead as he suffered a head injury while his colleague is seriously injuredrdquo said a resident of Ganesh ChowkVasant Rathod Bharatrsquos father has demanded strict action against the hoarding owner Bhavesh Bhinde and other accused ldquoIt is due to the negligence of the railway police and the BMC that the incident took place We demand that stringent action be taken by the police on those who are involvedrdquo he said ldquoThe collector handed us a cheque for Rs 4 lakh We are yet to receive the remaining R1 lakhrdquo he addedDhanesh Chauhan 48Ajay Chauhan the deceasedrsquos nephew said ldquoThe deceased is my younger uncle We canrsquot blame nature for uprooting the hoarding but we surely can blame the authorities for not taking appropriate action even after knowing that the hoarding was illegal What is more shocking is that the hoarding even after being illegal was said to be Asiarsquos largest hoarding Were the authorities fast asleep If the BMC only permits the construction of hoardings that are upto 40x40 feet how come a 120x120foot hoarding was erected right under their noses How was it even allowedrdquoHe added ldquoMy unclersquos family comprises a boy and girl my aunt wife of the deceased and his aged mother who have no one to look after them now They fall way below the poverty line and we usually support them They live in a rented house in a chawl and he Dhanesh did fabrication work on a daily wage basis often undertaking delivery assignments transporting fabrication material from Kurla to Mulund The family came to Mumbai some 12 years ago from BiharrdquoHe added ldquoThe compensation is not at all sufficient for the family as my cousinsrsquo education needs to be looked after My female cousin and her wedding expenses are to be looked after It would be better if one of them is offered a government job so that they can look after their grandmother mother and other siblingrdquoDoc SpeakDr Bharati Rajuwala medical superintendent Rajawadi hospitallsquoAs of 9 pm on May 19 eight of the total injured admitted to Rajawadi hospital are stable One of the patients underwent knee surgery on May 18 and is on the route to recovery Four individuals decided to seek discharge against medical advice The rest were discharged according to their medical conditionsrsquo