In first part of our new series looking back at the pain the pandemic inflicted on city families, BMC worker Sanjay Kadam’s daughter speaks on how the deaths of her father and his sister soon after devastated the two families
Sanjay Kadam and his family. His daughter claimed the doctors told him it was a viral fever and so he continued reporting for duty as there was a shortage of staff
Some frontline workers lost their lives during the peak of the pandemic. The Kadam family, one of whose members was a frontline worker, lost two members. Sanjay Kadam, 56, who worked at the Cooper hospital, admitting patients and getting details of those coming with emergencies, died due to COVID-19 at the end of May 2020, and his sister died soon after due to the disease, devastating the family.
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While his son has been given a job, the municipal employee’s family now awaits compensation from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Sanjay Kadam and his wife (centre) with relatives
Kadam was always available for duty and according to his daughter, he was at work even the day before getting admitted. As Kadam had comorbidities, he had immediately gotten himself checked when he caught a cold and fever, but his daughter claimed the doctors told him it was a viral fever and so he continued reporting for duty as there was a shortage of staff.
What happened
However, when his fever did not reduce, his daughter and wife insisted that he get checked again and after a week, on May 26 he was admitted owing to his symptoms, and also because he complained of some breathlessness, which the doctors claimed could be pneumonia.
His daughter, Sonal, also a BMC employee said, “That was the toughest time of our lives. He was admitted to hospital on May 26 and on May 27, his swab was collected for a COVID test. On May 28 he complained of severe breathlessness and the doctors said that he would have to be shifted to the ICU. On May 29, we were informed that my father was no more and later we were told that his COVID test was positive.”
His sister Kavita Haralkar who also died of COVID-19
She added, “We did not suspect anything so grave as his fever was not high. He only had a little temperature in the evenings. It was a very bad year for our family.” While the family was reeling under the loss of Sanjay, on June 1, his sister Kavita Haralkar, 60, also succumbed to COVID-19.
Sonal said, “After her death, we were informed that she had tested COVID positive. As she was a widow, she always stayed with an uncle and his family and we all were very close to her. It was a very difficult time for all of us.”
As Sonal and her brother were asymptomatic cases and their mother was a negative case, she had to stay separately in a different room as the siblings were home quarantined. Even Sonal’s uncle’s family was quarantined, so neither could support each other during the difficult time.
Some compensation given
Kadam had been working for Cooper hospital since 1990 and stayed in the staff quarters for almost 22 years. Now his family is living on rent in a different place as they had to vacate the place after his death. The only silver lining for the family came when his son got employment in one of BMC’s departments recently – one of the compensations promised by the civic body which was given.
26 May
When Sanjay Kadam was admitted to hospital
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