Still Reeling

Pic By: Gayatri Pradhan (ToI)

Most people would treat it as another mundane affair. Yet, it’s a simple bank account which has emerged as a major stumbling block for the hapless residents of Gali number 42 in Beadonpura.They have already lost 11 people in Saturday’s bomb blasts and as the realisation seeps in that life must go on, their efforts to get the Rs 5 lakh compensation money, which was announced within hours of the blasts, are hit by the lack of a bank account. ‘‘We had met the SDM on Monday and again on Tuesday at Paharganj. He has promised us that the compensation papers would be prepared at the earliest. But during the discussions he pointed out that we need individual bank accounts where the money would be deposited as the compensation package was big,’’ said Ashok, one of the residents who developed a partial hearing problem after the bomb blast. There is more to the problem. Even to open a new bank account these people — most of them daily wage earners — would need to furnish a number of documents like residence proof etc, which again nearly all of them do not possess. has been put in place.’’ Meanwhile, the victims refused to entertain the stream of political leaders who visited the street. ‘‘They are here only to play divisive politics. They are not really concerned about our well-being. If they really cared, they would have brought food and other relief,’’ said Prakash, Simran’s maternal uncle. As for Simran, she had only this to say: ‘‘Can uncle take me to my mother?’’