‘Naresh always helped others, but now he is gone’

Her husband, Devaraj, a 53-year-old electrician and plumber, squats next to her, staring vacantly.

The old couple is mourning the loss of their only son, Naresh, a 25-year-old, who worked as a driver and was the only breadwinner of the family. He succumbed to burns sustained during the cylinder blast at the bakery. “Our entire family depended on Naresh. My daughter finished Class 12 and will soon be joining college. Who will take care of our family now?” asks Devaraj, staring at a framed photograph of Naresh. 

Selvi, recalls the last conversation with her son on that fateful night. “He had just finished his work and said he would go eat and return. Within a short time, we  heard that there was a blast and Naresh was injured. We rushed to the hospital and he could speak to us. But  a few days later, he passed  away,” she says, weeping. Naresh and his friends from the locality were always the first ones to respond to any emer gency. “During the 2015 floods, Naresh and his friends helped collect money and handed out food packets to the affected people. My son, who always helps others, is now dead due to no  fault of his,” says Selvi, who suffers from a chronic medical condition.  

The family is in shock, having lost their son and staring at an uncertain future. “The government has ordered compensation but can they bring back my son? He was a talented boy. Instead of him conducting my final rites, it hurts that I had to do so for him,” wonders Devaraj. — With inputs from Justin George