The area, which must have sheltered at least 1,500-2,000 families, was reduced to ashes. The only sounds coming were agonising screams and wails. Several women were seen running from the site of the fire to the main road, looking for their children.
An inconsolable and distraught Chandrakala couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her husband's limbs under the bed in their shanty. Sitting on the floor of the casualty ward muttering in grief, she said that because Prahlad, a contract labourer, couldn't walk as he was unwell, he would have thought of taking shelter under the bed.
A ragpicker, she was out to consult a doctor when the fire broke out. Last week, she was operated on for gall bladder stone. "When I returned, I saw a lot of commotion and heard that there had been a fire in Damu Nagar slums. I ran towards my home but was not allowed to go beyond a point. After the blazed was doused, I got in only to see his remains," she said, collapsing in tears.
The area, which must have sheltered at least 1,500-2,000 families, was reduced to ashes. The only sounds coming were agonising screams and wails. Several women were seen running from the site of the fire to the main road, looking for their children.
One woman was continuously searching for her son but couldn't find him. "My heart sinks even to imagine if I have lost him in the fire. I am hoping that these youngsters and volunteers took him to safety. But where do I search for him?" she said, running from direction to the other.
Another resident Neelam Hadpad, who lived with her two sons in the slums for the past 20 years, was seen sitting on the ashes of her own home. Pointing to burnt vessels and clothes, Hadpad, who works as a maid in Lokhandwala Township, simply tearfully gestured around her and said, "This is my house." Her relatives, who had rushed to the spot from nearby slums, frantically searched for documents and other important things, but it was all ashes.
Karnataka native Mallamma Dehgaon, who had come 15 years ago and started working in nearby buildings, said, "I had built my home with so much of love and care. For others it might be a shanty, but for me it was my world.
I left at 8.30am and returned to find my haven destroyed." Even as fire brigade officers sprayed water to extinguish the blaze, turning the ground mucky, Dehgaon continued running her fingers through the slush to see if anything useful remained.
Fifty-five-year-old Vatsala Paithane and her family of nine managed to survive but not without losses, albeit material. "How could God be so cruel... where do we go, whom do we complain to?" she rued.
Shatabdi hospital superintendent Krishna Pimple said, "Thirteen people were admitted here after the accident. Among them, two were declared dead on arrival and a 60-year-old woman has 30% burns. The rest are under observation."
Among the dead, one was said to be burnt beyond recognition. The woman with 30% burns is undergoing treatment.
The deceased
Unidentified
Pralhad Kharat (45)
The injured
Parvati Shankar Nanuba (60)
Sumitra Bhanudas Reksha (30)
Rama Sunil Kamble (54)
Sonu Gupta (24)
Nazir Shaikh (35)
Asha M Ugade (26)
Jaikey Kagda (25)
Vaishali Maskey (28)
Suresh Tediginkeri (31)
Surendra Kishan Pole (22)
Sania Rajesh Singh (8)
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