Comments
Ms Sarika Jain, a slightly built lady dressed in a simple red salwar kameez, wails in the reception area of the Sir Hurkisondas Nurrotumdas Hospital, popularly know as HN Hospital. Occasionally, her wails reach a crescendo and then subside. The kumkum on her forehead is still intact but her husband Sunil Kumar Jain, for whom she had applied it on Wednesday morning, is no more.
Jain, a 45-year-old diamond trader, who was badly injured in the Opera House blast, died of multiple wounds within two hours of being admitted to the hospital.
Ms Jain's wails sound like a haunting score but after some time merge with the cacophony in the reception. Occasionally, she is comforted by Ms Mona Jain who is not related to her but shares her sorrow.
Ms Mona Jain is lucky — her husband, Mr Sudhir Jain, also a victim of the same blast, managed to escape with injuries to his left leg. While undergoing treatment Sudhir spoke to Mona on the phone, “Mein theek hu, baki sab badme.” (I'm ok, we will talk later.) HN Hospital in South Mumbai is located about five minutes away from the Opera House blast site. More than 45 injured were brought to the hospital.
In fact, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured.
One of the hospital staff speaking to Business Line on condition of anonymity said, “The building shook violently and I realised that it was not a cracker blast. There was something different about it and I told the doctor and the nursing staff to be ready. Within minutes, police vans and other vehicles started bringing the injured to the hospital.”
Unlike other public hospitals, at HN Hospital there was order in the chaos. The injured, depending on the severity of their wounds, were quickly sent to the various wards and operation theatres. The blood stains left by the injured were immediately cleaned by the conservancy staff. All that remained was the stinging smell of antiseptic in the air.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.