HYDERABAD: “ALLAH is great. He is with me,” said a delighted Shaik Mujeeb, after he received 1.33 lakh US dollars as compensation from Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority, here on Saturday. Mujeeb is a survivor of a crane collapse in Mecca, one of modern history’s deadliest accidents.
Mujeeb, a native of Old City had sustained injuries after a crawler crane toppled and fell onto the Masjid al-Haram the grand mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on September 11, 2015.
In this tragic incident 111 people were killed and another 394 were injured.
The sole bread winner of the family Mujeeb went for Haj in 2015. He was a petty trader and sold plastic goods on a pushcart near Charminar. “My spleen was damaged, when the crane hit me,” Mujeeb said while recalling the horrific incident. Later, he lost his spleen.
Mujeeb received the cheque from the Home Minister at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday. A good education for his three sons and two daughters is what Mujeeb’s plans for the huge compensation amount he has received.
Immediately after the accident, the Saudi King ordered a million Riyals to be paid to the victims with permanent disability and half a million Riyals (1,33,000 US dollars) to victims without lasting injuries.
After the formation of Telangana State Haj Committee, Mujeeb approached Haj Committee chairman Masiullah Khan, who gave him Rs 50,000 from his first month salary to Mujeeb. Later, with help from the Haj Committee, Mujeeb took up his case with the authorities in Saudi.