Guard still recovering from stampede

On that fateful night, Pakkiri, employed as a security guard for an ATM, which was next to the bakery, had gone to the nearby medical store to get his regular medication. Once he heard that the bakery was on fire, he stood on the opposite side, watching the proceedings. Suddenly, when the blast occurred, Pakkiri found himself in a stampede. “People were running in all directions. Since I couldn’t run, I fell and was trampled upon by a few people. Nobody stopped to help me. Somehow, I managed to get off the ground and move away. I had injured my knees and back and when I went to the hospital, the doctor said that I may  have to get hospitalised. I don’t have the means to do so,” said the senior citizen. 

The ATM was also gutted, leaving Pakkiri without a job. “I am staying in my daughter-in-law’s house. I don’t have a job now and my health has also suffered due to being stampeded upon,” he added. His daughter Mala said, “We had to borrow money for the treatment. Now, without a job, it has become difficult for us. People like my father, who were just doing their job, are not taken into account by the government and continue to suffer.”