KOLLAM: Society often tends to forget its heroes. Vijayan was just 20 years old when one of the country’s deadliest train accidents occurred in Kollam district in 1988.
More than 105 lives were lost and over 200 people sustained injuries when nine coaches of the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Island Express derailed and plunged into the Ashtamudi lake. Vijayan, a resident of the nearby Mangad village, was among the first responders. He managed to save over 40 drowning people. While trying to save a child, a bogie fell into the river, severely injuring him.
Vijayan, however, managed to rescue the child, but he spent 22 days in the Kollam district hospital. While undergoing treatment, Madhavrao Scindia, the then Union railway minister, visited him and praised his heroism.
Like many other rescuers that day, Vijayan was promised a job and compensation by the Centre.
More than three decades on, however, he and his 48-year-old wife Yamuna live in a tiny rented shelter home. His injuries left him partially deaf.
Over time, Vijayan has also grappled with age-related ailments. His wife now works as a housemaid to support the family.
“That fateful day is still fresh in my memory. The screams still echo in my ears. Being young, I didn’t think twice about rushing to the spot along with the others. When Madhavrao Scindia met me in the hospital, he in an emotional tone asked me if I needed anything. I was too naive then to ask for any help. That was perhaps the biggest mistake of my life,” says Vijayan, now 56.
“I don’t have a job or a house. We live in a rented shelter home. Until last year, one of the parents of the child I saved sent us Rs 3,000 every month. That amount was a huge relief. For years, my family survived on that aid,” he adds.
Each year, Vijayan is honoured by political parties on the eve of the anniversary of the tragedy. Yet, without financial support, the family is struggling to make ends meet.
‘We are struggling all alone’
During the term of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, Yamuna applied for a home under the LIFE Mission scheme.
However, due to delays in the process, nothing has been forthcoming.
“Our two sons are married, and we live alone. Our biggest dream is to have a home of our own.But my application has been stuck in red tape. We have no money. Whatever we have is what I earn from working in other houses. I don’t know what will happen. Everyone praised my husband when he rescued people, but now we are struggling all alone,” says Yamuna, in a voice tinged with sadness.