NEW DELHI: When Rajender Kashyap (70) left for Goa on Monday, he shared a photo of himself boarding the flight on the family’s WhatsApp group. It turned out to be the last thing he shared with the entire family. Two days later, when Rajender rushed back, his wife Lado Devi (70), two of his sons, his only daughter, two daughters-in-law and three grandchildren had perished in a massive blaze that engulfed his shop and home in Palam Village. On Thursday, Rajender sat on a mattress outside what used to be his home and shop, Pravesh Moderate Fashion, and wept. “Mera pura ghar ujad gaya. Kya bacha hai? (Everything is gone. What is left for me),” he said, his eyes welling up.
Relatives consoled him, but it was clear that what was once Rajender’s life is now just ashes. The family members who were not at home at the time of the blaze, for whom survival may seem more cruel than death, have moved to a nearby house where Rajender’s brother lives. Three Kashyap family members are injured — Anil (32), Sachin (29) and two-year-old Mitali. Mitali, Anil’s daughter, has suffered fractures in her legs and has been discharged from IG Hospital. She is under treatment at a nearby private facility. Anil’s head had hit against the ladder of a fire tender after he jumped from the building. He is showing signs of recovery. Sachin has 25% burns is undergoing treatment and is stable. They have not been told about the full extent of the loss. “We have told them that the way they are in hospital, so is everyone else,” said Deepak Sharma, a cousin. Calling the rescue a “departmental failure,” Rajender said he had contacted the local DFS officials from Goa after being alerted about the fire and tried to stay in touch with them. “There should be proper trials for all tenders. It should be checked if everything is working well,” he said. “The official on call told me that they are reaching the spot with their entire force. But the reality was something else.” When TOI told fire officials about Rajender’s allegation, a senior official said the department was unaware of any official speaking to Rajender directly and they could not comment beyond this. Rajender was also in touch with his family till he boarded his flight from Goa. He had made the last call before boarding to Sunil Kashyap, his son, who was in Solan on Wednesday. “The family was continuously giving papa updates and keeping him in the loop,” Sunil said. He added that he found out about the blaze from a local rickshaw driver. “I got a call from him saying that a huge fire had broken out at the Pravesh shop, unaware that it was ours.” While an ex gratia has been announced by both central and Delhi govts, Rajender said that no official documentation procedure has begun yet.
