'We borrowed money for dad’s last rites'

Recalling the events, the 56-year-old says, “That night, there was a power cut. He was sleeping, but due to the mosquito menace, he just got up to go to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) office, on the road adjacent to the bakery, to find out when the power will be restored. When he was crossing the area, the cylinder burst. Next thing we heard that he was admitted at the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC), where we rushed.” 

Her daughter, 23-year-old Chitra, a homemaker, said that her father, who worked as a security guard at a store in Pursaiwalkam, looked after the family’s needs. “We are living in a rented house and do not have enough money to pay the rent. When we approached the house owner to ask him if we could pay it next month, he refused to believe us until I showed him the article in the newspaper. Our father was everything for us,” she ruefully added. Chitra has two siblings, Deepa (27), a homemaker, and Gopi (30), who drives a school bus. 

The family, which is in dire straits, hopes that the government would lend a helping hand. “If our brother could get a government job, he could take care of our mother and the family. After our father’s demise, our life has changed. We had to borrow money to conduct our father’s last rites. We don’t know what we will do, now that he is not here,” said Chitra, worry etched deep on her young face. 

Dr.GP Ganapathy, Associate Professor & Director, Centre for Disaster Mitigation and Management, VIT University, said that many people throng an accident site to find ways to help the situation, while also taking photos for the social media. “People don’t understand the situation and try to help. In case of fire accidents, the first reaction is to try to put out the fire by themselves, before calling in the Fire & Rescue Services. This usually results in a delay. Fires can escalate within minutes,” said the expert.