Red Fort blast: Survivors deal with injuries, trauma and worries about future

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) The powerful blast on Monday evening has left behind a trail of shattered bodies, and a lifetime of physical, emotional and financial scars for survivors.

The explosion in a slow-moving car near the Red Fort claimed 13 lives and injured several others.

From the loss of an eye and fractured bones to the financial shock that now threatens their only means of livelihood, the survivors are now battling injuries, trauma and worries about future.

Among them is Ankush Sharma, a resident of Shahdara, who had come to visit Gauri Shankar Mandir in Chandni Chowk on Monday evening.

As he was walking towards the temple for darshan, the explosion ripped through the area.

“What happened has completely changed my brother’s life,” Ankit Sharma, brother of 32-year-old Ankush, told PTI. He said his brother has permanently lost one eye, suffered fractures, undergone plastic surgery and is currently in the ICU.

Not far from him was Rohit, a cab driver and the sole breadwinner of his family. He had parked his cab in the Red Fort parking lot and walked towards Chandni Chowk to grab a quick meal, as he had not received any passengers for a while.

“I was hungry, so I went inside the market to eat something,” Rohit, a blast survivor, recalled from his hospital bed. “And then the blast happened. I fell to the ground. Everything went dark.” Rohit supports his parents, his wife and his 8-year-old daughter. With severe injuries, he fears the long road to recovery will also bring heavy financial strain.

“My body is not fully functional right now. I don’t know how long it will take to heal. I am the only earning member…everything depends on me,” he said.

Another family grappling with the aftermath is that of Rita, who had gone to Chandni Chowk to meet a relative. While on her way back, she stopped at a watch shop to get her watch repaired. As she waited for her cab, the driver asked her to cross over to the other side. She was in the process of crossing when the explosion took place.

Rita’s sister Anju, who has been at the hospital since the incident, said the family is still trying to process what happened, adding that they are thankful she survived. “She had just stepped forward to cross the road when everything shook. She fell, and the cab driver who came to pick her up was also injured,” Anju said.

However, the survivors are thankful that they have survived, but their journey to healing has only just begun. PTI NSM AMJ AMJ