KOTTAYAM: “My son received his first salary yesterday. He wished to give it to his mother,” Visruthan’s voice quivered with emotions as he sat near the body of his beloved wife, D Bindu, 52, who died in the building collapse at Govt Medical College Hospital in Kottayam.
“I didn’t know she was under the slabs (debris). As I frantically searched for her when the building collapsed, she was under the rubble, half dead. Just imagine how much pain she must have endured? This should not happen to anyone tomorrow,” he lamented.
Struggling to find someone to blame for his wife’s death, Visruthan expressed his frustration over the claims made by ministers and officials that no one was inside the collapsed building, which he believes delayed the rescue efforts. “Why did they lie? My wife, my daughter, and several others used that restroom earlier in the morning. It seems the authorities are trying to shield someone,” he said with a voice filled with anguish.
The heart-wrenching cries of Bindu’s son Navaneeth, daughter Navami, mother Seetha Lakshmi, and other grieving relatives echoed through the air, drawing a crowd of mourners to Meppath Kunnel House in Thalayolaparambu when the mortal remains of Bindu were brought to the residence on Friday.
Seetha Lakshmi broke down in tears before district collector John V Samuel, who had come to offer condolence of the government in the morning.
Bindu lived with her husband, Visruthan, her mother Seethalakshmi, and her two children, Navami, 20, and Navaneeth, 22, in a small, unfinished house built on five cents of land inherited from the family. The family relied on Bindu’s modest income from her job at a local textile shop and Visruthan’s work as a mason to make ends meet. Following space constraints at Visruthan’s residence, Bindu’s body was cremated on the land belonging to her sister near their residence. Bindu’s relatives said her life would have been saved if rescue operations were carried out immediately after the accident. They demanded the government to provide financial aid to the family.
“The government has a responsibility to take care of my children. My wife lived for her children and we relied on her income to support our family. No one has lost anything, my children are left without a mother,” he said.
