A resident of East Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area, Chand, a guest house manager, felt a stinging pain in his heart early Saturday morning.
The strict traffic arrangements imposed in the national capital in the run-up to the 70th Independence Day cost 50-year-old Kailash Chand his life. Chand, who suffered a heart attack on Saturday morning, was unable to reach the hospital in time due to the many route diversions that were imposed because of the security arrangements.
A resident of East Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area, Chand, a guest house manager, felt a stinging pain in his heart early Saturday morning. To avoid a delay in getting treatment, Chand's family wanted to rush him to the closest hospital in an autorickshaw, instead of waiting for the ambulance.
"We took my father in an auto, because we wanted to save time. However, as soon as we crossed the bridge off Geeta Colony, we were stopped by security personnel and forced to divert," said Arvind, Chand's eldest son. "We begged with the officials to allow us to pass; however, we were flatly refused," he added.
Two days before the August 15 celebrations, a full dress rehearsal is conducted that includes security for the prime minister. The route the Chands wanted to travel on was apparently the PM's route which was thus cordoned off to the general public.
What was to be a 10-minute (7 kms) auto ride, the Chands travelled more than 20 kilometres that took them a nightmarish hour and a half.
The doctors at Irwin Hospital (Lok Nayak Hospital) declared Chand dead on arrival. "The doctors told us that our father could have been saved had we reached in time," said Arvind.
Speaking to dna, Garima Bhatnagar, joint commissioner of police (traffic) said, "It is impossible a man died because of the traffic arrangements. There is no diversion that would affect the way to a hospital."
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