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Thursday, Jul 13, 2006

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National

Spontaneous gestures by good samaritans

Meena Menon

Hundreds of Mumbaikars mounted rescue operations; there was anger that the police did not act immediately

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

Salim Qureishi from Garib Nagar, Bandra who helped the injured in Tuesday's serial blasts in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: Faiyaz Gavte was crossing the foot over-bridge near the Bandra suburban railway station to his home in Naupada on Tuesday evening when he chanced to look down on the tracks. "I saw a train approach — it was a Borivili-bound train on the fast track and even as I looked, there was a tremendous explosion and black smoke came out [of a compartment]," says Faiyaz.

"The train was moving and people were falling out and it stopped a little after the bridge. The blast blew pieces of the train some 80 to 100 metres away and ripped apart the compartment. People hearing the noise, came streaming out of the houses on both sides of the track. I ran down the bridge to help the injured," says the 30-year-old businessman of Naupada, a housing colony parallel to the tracks.

No stretchers

Along with Faiyaz, hundreds of young men from Naupada plunged into rescue operations, initially marked by the complete absence of the police or railway officials. Even stretchers were not available to take the injured or the dead. " We pulled out the padded seats in the first class compartment and used them to carry away people to the nearest platform," says Akhtar Sonalkar.

All these young men belonging to a voluntary organisation called Al-Hind Ekta Society, rushed to rescue the numerous injured from first class compartment. The police came much later and they were not willing to touch the bodies. "It was people like us who provided all the immediate rescue measures," said Sonalkar.

The injured were in a state of shock and could not hear. Many of the bodies were mutilated, some beyond recognition and there was so much panic, he adds. The injured and the dead were bundled in bed sheets and on makeshift stretchers. The station had only one or two stretchers.

Public anger

"Many people lost their hands and fractured their shoulders — especially the ones who were strap hanging. Some were stuck inside the train and we had to pull them out and people were piled on each other," adds Sonalkar. There was a lot of public anger and disbelief that the police did not act immediately.

At least 50 injured and over 20 dead were taken to the Bhabha Municipal Hospital and nearby hospitals.

The Society members collected all mobiles and wallets and gave these to the nearest police station so that these could be returned.

In nearby Garib Nagar, just a step outside the Bandra station, people mistook a bomb explosion for a cylinder blast. But Salim Qureishi, a local Congress party worker, said: "The ground shook and we saw black smoke. I rushed to the spot and had my video camera with me. I saw bodies were piled up on each other and many of the injured were critical. Some of the bodies were headless and the bodies were in pieces."

Salim's footage has been aired on private TV channels and it clearly shows how the local people helped in the rescue and that they were the only ones present. "We took people in rickshaws to Bhabha hospital and it was our timely help that ensured that more people did not die," he said. Aslam, a rickshaw driver, said he was outside the station when he heard the blast and did not realise it was five minutes away.

"We ferried people home till late night," he adds. Most residents were horrified at the turn of events and demanded that the culprits be brought to book soon. "So many innocent lives were lost in the train," said Salim.

— Photo: Vivek Bendre

SWIFT HELP: Al-Hind Ekta Society members at the Bandra blast site on Wednesday.

The local anganwadi worker Prema Yadav, who was witness to the whole incident, said that it was a frightening sight to see so many crushed bodies. "If we did not help, those people would have stayed on the tracks for a long time," she pointed out.

Strange response

Residents who called the police to tell them about the blasts met with a strange response. The police simply said it was a rumour. Worse still when they did arrive on the scene, they prevented people from touching the bodies or rescuing the injured. On the other hand, most commuters in the train did not run away but stayed back to help and bring down the injured and the dead. Ironically, the settlements near the Bandra station like Garib Nagar, Naupada and nearby Behrampada, are Muslim-dominated and are often targeted as hotspots of terror. In the 1992-93 Mumbai riots, they were also the targets of much police attention.

Blame police

Like Salim and the others, youngsters like Sanjay, a businessman and Vineet, a physical trainer, too did their bit on Tuesday evening.

"The police were not ready to touch the bodies and we also helped to bring the dead and injured to Bhabha hospital," said an angry Sanjay. Both rushed there as soon as they heard of the blasts on television. In fact, late in the night, the Bhabha Hospital was surrounded by people like Sanjay who had chipped in to help the victims.

In the rest of the city too, weary commuters making their way back home were provided with food and water by people. Even transport was arranged for those going long distances.

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