‘Shattered, couldn’t even attend son’s cremation’

HOSHIARPUR : Seventy-two-year-old Shiv Dev Singh Bajwa was finding it hard to come to terms with the Covid-19 induced death of his youngest son Davinder Singh, 44, in September 2020, little knowing that the worse was yet to come. On April 12, he lost his eldest son Harjinder Singh, 52, to the virus. Having himself contracted the infection and hospitalised, he was unable to attend even the cremation of his son. Harjinder was the sarpanch of Bassi Kikran village. A well-established family that operates several brick kilns is now finding it hard to manage things. Bajwa’s third son had died of heart attack a few years ago.

“We were trying to reconcile with the loss of our son who died of natural causes when Covid struck our family in September last year and snatched away Davinder. He was admitted to a private hospital following a road accident where he contracted the infection. Within days, he was gone,” says Bajwa.

“Last month, my elder son fell prey to the virus. We were advised by our acquaintances and local doctors to keep him in home quarantine. When his condition started deteriorating, he was taken to DMCH Ludhiana but was declared brought dead. We are completely devastated. I am so unlucky that I could not attend even the cremation,” he adds.

Losing two sons in quick succession and contracting the infection himself has left Bajwa physically and emotionally exhausted. His wife, grandson and granddaughter also got infected but they have recovered from the illness.

“Covid has left us scarred forever. We pray that this pandemic goes away soon and peace prevails,” says Bajwa.

He is unaware from where his son contracted the infection. “We got the entire labour at brick kilns tested for Covid and only three people were found positive,” he claimed.

However, he has a word of advice for public: “Get vaccinated and observe social distancing”.