‘Will never visit the rly station where I lost my 11-year-old son’
MUMBAI: A year since the stampede killed his 11-year-old son Rohit, Ankush Parab hasn’t been able to muster the courage to see Elphinstone Road station (now Prabhadevi). “I travel till Dadar by train and complete the rest of the journey by road,” said Parab, a flower vendor, at his one-bhk home near Kanjurmarg railway station.
Rohit had gone with his elder brother Aakash to the Dadar market when the incident took place. “Rohit said he would wait for me at the end of the foot overbridge. The last thing I recall is people falling over me. I lost consciousness and woke up in KEM hospital,” said Aakash, who suffered leg injuries and had to get steel implants.
“They had gone to get flowers for Dussehra. The pair of clothes that Rohit was to wear for the festival are still lying in the house,” said Parab, reminiscing how Rohit always jumped at every chance to help him out. “He used to accompany me to Ganpati mandals. He always said soon he will do all the work.”
Parab’s wife Ankita is unable to control her emotions. “Rohit always had a smile on his face. He was born in KEM hospital in Parel. I lost him at the same spot,” she said.
The family is irked with the constant media glare. “People keep asking if we got the compensation or if we are happy with the bridges being built. Money can’t bring back my son. If they had worked on the bridge earlier, Rohit would have been alive,” said Parab.