Survivor continues to struggle; lockdown worsens his woes

MUMBAI: Two years after the Gokhale bridge collapse at Andheri railway station on July 3, 2018 changed his life for the worse, the lockdown owing to Covid-19 outbreak has dealt another blow to Girdhari Singh Shikhawat, 45.

Shikhawat had suffered fractures to his rib cage, shoulder and on both the hands in the incident. He remained in the civic-run Cooper Hospital for a month and moved back to his hometown in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.

“I took very long to recover. I came back to my hometown and wanted to go back. However, my hands never healed completely. The company where I worked in Mumbai wouldn’t have taken me back,” he said.

Shikhawat then started to work at a garment shop in Jhunjhunu, handling receipts and cash. “I could only do limited work because my hands were severely damaged. But owing to the lockdown, the shop too was shut. Amid the lockdown, I am struggling to even get odd jobs,” said Shikhawat.

Shikhawat received ₹1 lakh compensation from the Western Railway. Shikhawat is now dependent on the family’s farm to support his wife and two children, but that income too gets divided among other members of the family.

On the fateful day, two people lost their lives as a part of the bridge collapsed, while Shikhawat was among the three injured.

The 45-year-old was heading to his factory in the western suburbs where he worked as a security guard.

As the pathway collapsed, Shikhawat fell inside the rubble on to the railway tracks.

“The incident is still fresh in my mind. I was walking on the bridge and directly collapsed onto the railway tracks. I was under the debris the next minute. People rushed to help and pulled me out of the debris.”

A detailed report by the Western Railway later revealed the collapse was due to heavy corrosion and increased weight of utilities on the bridge.