HYDERABAD: “I have been dying to hear his voice. We were all so proud of him but looking at him now...I had never imagined I will see him in this condition,” says Vasanta Reddy, mother of Sadashiva Reddy (29) who was severely injured in the Gokul Chat blast in Aug, 2007. Since then, he hasn’t uttered a word. Due to the impact of the blast, Sadashiva Reddy has lost his voice and vision and has been maimed for life.
“He hasn’t spoken a word these past five years. He has a complete dysfunctional right side and left leg. All that he can do by himself is brush his teeth,” Vasanta explains. Words fail to describe her agony. As one enters their house, one cannot but notice photographs of the once bright young man and compare them with his present condition.
Though it has been years since the blast, the shock and the fear are still visible on Sadashiva’s face. He gets scared when one tries to strike a conversation with him. “I have never seen him this scared,” the heart-broken mother observes as she looks at his old photos. Watching Sadashiva failing to hold even a cup of tea, she sighs, “look at his pictures before the blast and see how our lives have been ruined.”
An MTech from VNR Vignan Jyothi in Bachupally, Sadashiva used to work at the Vijai Electricals. On the fateful day in August, he had gone to the Gokul Chat along with his friend Badusha to meet up with an old chum, Uday, who returned from Australia. What happened next remains hazy. The trio had obviously ordered a dish and were reliving their memories when the bomb went off. “We received an anonymous call and the man informed us that Sadashiva was severely injured in the blast and that he was rushed to the Osmania Hospital. We were devastated,” Vasanta recalls.
Their experience couldn’t have been worse. Sadashiva’s parents rushed to the Osmania Hospital but couldn’t find their son there. “We went to the Care Hospital in Banjara Hills. He wasn’t there either. Finally, we found him at the Care Hospital in Nampally. It was the worst moment of our lives,” she says breaking into tears.
Had he not been injured in the blast, Sadashiva could have gone places. “All that he cared for was excellence, both academic and professional. He was the topper at school and college and used to bring home awards and trophies,” Mohan Reddy, his father, muses. Sadashiva Reddy, in fact, had been to Japan twice to work on a project relating to new-age transformers. “We insisted that he settle down in Japan but his heart was always here. He had told us that if successful, his project could be of great help to Indians,” he says. Mohan Reddy, who hails from Warangal, worked in a printing press and is retired now. “I used all my savings for him. We do not have any property of ours back in Warangal. We are very worried about his future now,” he adds. Sadashiva has an elder brother Srinivasa Reddy who is now supporting the family. But as Mohan Reddy puts it, “whatever we do isn’t just enough.” Sadashiva’s medical bill for every month runs into thousands of rupees. “We spend about `20,000 for his physiotherapy, speech therapy and medicines every month, which is why we went to meet the chief minister the other day. It is really unfair as even after five years, he has not received any help from the government. Had it been sensitive, we as well as the families of other victims would not have been in this position,” Mohan Reddy says, adding, “We do not want sympathies. We want a solution.”
The wife and husband are understandably angry with the authorities for their son had the spark and could have made it big. “He had learnt Japanese and Russian. He loved cricket and never used to miss a match. He was just 25 and too young,” the couple say as they go down the memory lane to the good times when their dear Sada was happy.
“We had dreams. We wanted him to marry and play with his children. But, life is unfair you know. We hope the chief minister will help us. We are taking care of him now but we won’t be around all the time. What happens when we are no more?” they wonder.