Simran's agony

Pic By: Rahul Anand

Though not a physical victim herself, she has become the face of the Delhi blasts. Visions of 5-yearold Simran — distraught at losing her father, aunt and grandfather; heartbroken at being separated from her mother — are all over the media and Delhi’s heart is going out to the little child. Says Yogita Bhayana, founder president of Das Charitable Foundation, ‘‘We want to ensure she gets the right kind of help and so we have arranged for a psychiatrist to meet Simran. We also plan to take care of all finances for her education.’’ Simran’s wounds may not be visible but they run deep. The trauma of tragedy coupled with the fear of seeing eight family members dead has left the little girl in shock. She is a shadow of her former self, hardly speaks to anybody and has been running a temperature for the last few days. Even Simran’s reunion with her mother Kamleshwati has been shortlived, as the latter was re-admitted to hospital on Wednesday. ‘‘She is suffering from depression,’’ said her grandmother Sohan Devi. ‘‘She and her mother are finding it difficult to cope with the situation. But look at my plight. I lost my son, daughter and husband in a matter of seconds. We live off the pavement. The government should ensure there is a permanent roof over our heads and we are given employment,’’ she adds. Three other blast victims were also admitted to Jassa Ram hospital on Wednesday, including two pregnant women (Usha and Meera) and one patient who was shifted from RML Hospital. Vikas (32) who was shifted from RML, has suffered serious injuries on his shoulder, back and legs. Both of Usha’s legs are injured and she cannot move. Says her husband Suraj Pawar, ‘‘We have a 5-year-old son Vijay who was hurt in the blast as well. Usha needs to be in hospital to recover soon.’’ Meera, who is 7 months pregnant, is also a blast victim. After suffering from acute pain at home, she was persuaded by Das Charitable Foundation to be admitted to hospital.