Daughters face double whammy
NEW DELHI: With the lone breadwinner of the family gone, the two daughters of 53-year-old Ravinder Pal who died in a sewage gas leak in Taj Vivanta hotel have to face double tragedy. Apart from their daily expenses, they also have to look after their mother Taruna, 42 who suffers from lymph node cancer and is presently undergoing treatment. “It is a big blow to our family. My father was the lone breadwinner and the expenses of my mother's treatment are high. We do not know how we would manage now,” said the 19-yearold eldest daughter, Shilpa who is pursuing BA second year.
The daughters recall that their father who was keen about their studies. The younger daughter Isha, 17, is in eleventh class. The girls fear that the sudden death of their father might adversely affect the treatment of their mother and their studies, too.
Originally from Kanpur, the family has been staying in Delhi for years now. The family members said that Ravinder was a jolly man and always saw hope. “The news of the tragic accident came heavy on us. Earlier, Ravinder was employed at the Petrol pump in Rashtrapati Bhawan before it closed some time back. He just had a meagre income of 8 thousand and with that, he took care of his daughter's studies, household expenses and even his wife's treatment,” said Rajendra Prasad, a relative of the deceased.
Ravinder was employed with the present company as a contractual maintenance staff in sewer Treatment Plant (STP) of Eco Pollutech Engineers Company for two years. He was living with his family in East Delhi's Gazipur.
“The family should be compensated. Why proper measures are not taken by the authorities to safeguard the interests of the workers. This is not the first case. Earlier too, many cases similar in nature have been reported but it seems no one is bothered,” said Kanyaiya, elder brother of the deceased.