Mumbai serial blasts: I am lucky to be alive, says trader

A month after the July 13 blasts, 22-year-old Harish Hassija said that he feels lucky to be alive. He suffered extensive burns in the Zaveri Bazaar blast. A Goregaon resident, Hassija was treated at Saifee Hospital and was discharged on July 26.

A trader in artificial jewellery, he was showing samples at Zaveri Bazaar when the blast went off. Hassija had to undergo nine surgeries to get all the shrapnel out of his body.

"After being discharged when I read the newspapers, I was shocked to see the pictures. There was one photograph of a dismembered head and leg in front of a car. I thought that my problems are nothing compared to this," said Hassija.

When this reporter met Hassija in Saifee Hospital after the blasts, his face was red with the raw burn injury. Now a month later, he has healed considerably. Hassija has been asked to rest for six months.

"I only worry about my left hand. I cannot lift it completely," said Hassija.

He has got the government's compensation of Rs2 lakh. He has his mother, Bhavana, who takes tuition at home, and his sister, Kanchan, who studies in college, to take care of him. "I want to go back to my business. But I am apprehensive I might lose contacts," said Hassija.

The Taj Public Service Welfare Trust had offered Hassija a job. "They told me that if I need a job or training, I can approach them. They have offered to pay me while I am unemployed," said Hassija.