There is no medicine that can heal the wounds of the Palyekar family. There is also nobody they can trust any longer. But the family has reserves of strength as they fight their battle alone. Not only did the family suffer in the naphtha fire of 2011, it has also become the victim of fake promises.
On August 20, 2011, a fire broke out at Dactollem in Vasco due to a naphtha leak from the pipeline of Zuari industries. Five people died and many were injured. The Palyekar brothers – Chandrakant, Digambar and Tulsidas and late Pratap Palyekar – suffered the most in the fire. While Chandrakant suffered no personal tragedy, the youngest Digambar lost both his sons Deepesh (15) and Shivam (10), but was later blessed with another son on May 26, 2013. The tragedy still haunts Tulsidas whose son Tejas, now 15, has several medical complications and there is no one other than the family for them.
Tejas may have survived the naphtha fire but the scars of the tragedy will remain with him always. What upsets him more is the loss of Dipesh and Shubham who were like brothers to him.
“We were hanging out on the banks of the Maimollem lake when suddenly the nullah caught fire. We tried to run from the fire, that’s all I remember. I don’t know who picked us up and rushed us to hospital,” said Tejas, who today is unable to use his hands.
His father still can’t believe that his life could change so drastically in one day. “We can’t explain the pain and the agony we have gone through. We pray to God that even the worst of our enemies should never go through what we went,” an emotional Tulsidas said.
Before the incident Tulsidas and his wife had been dreaming of a house or flat of their own as they had wanted to move out from the one room accommodation. Their thoughts had even turned to a four-wheeler and like all parents wanted their only son to get the best education, but the fire ended the dreams.
“My husband was never much of a devotional person, but after the fire he never steps out of the house without performing his morning prayers. All this because, during those 16 months in the hospital in Mumbai he was continuously praying and visited almost all temples and churches praying for Tejas’ life,” said Tejaswani, her voice breaking and tears running down her cheeks.
Adding to the family’s frustration are the assurances made by the administration, ZIOTL and political leaders, that have remained just assurances. “Tejas was airlifted to Mumbai and shifted to the deluxe ward, of National Burns Centre at Airoli, from there he was shifted to the general ward and after 16 months the hospital authorities forcefully discharged our son knowing that he had not recovered fully. Without any money, a jobless father had to bring his son to Goa sitting on the floor of a local bogie of the Goa-Mumbai-Goa train. On reaching Margao I requested a local taxi driver and he later dropped us home,” Tulsidas told Herald, unable to keep the tears out of his eyes.
The real hardships for the family started in Goa as the burnt skin on Tejas’ body had grown thick along his elbow due to which he is unable to bend his hand. He also cannot bend his leg properly and now refuses to go for further surgeries as five of them have left him weak.
The doctors also advised Tejas to stay in a hygienic place and away from mosquitoes. But Palyekar resides in a 20 sq mtr single room located less than 15 meter from a nullah which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“I was promised a job, a home to keep our son safe and away from mosquitoes, financial aid for life time treatment in a private hospital, aid for education for my child and a vehicle to take my son to the private hospital till he recovers completely, but everything turned out to be fake. After returning from Mumbai we got GMC as a hospital, Kadamba bus as our vehicle and I was denied a job despite making several requests to the company as well as the government,” he said.
Tulsidas, who was earning Rs 15,000 per month lost his job (under contract) at Goa Shipyard Limited as he had to camp with his wife at the Mumbai hospital for 16 months. Today he is looking out for a job that allows him to drop and pick his son from school, and despite being qualified for a technical job Tulsidas joined as labour (under contract) at Dabolim airport for Rs 8000 as a salary of which Rs 4000 goes for Tejas’ medical bills and rest is used to fulfill his daily needs. Though they received Rs 3 lakh as compensation for Tejas’ injuries the family decided to keep the amount in a fixed deposit in their son’s name as at 55, Tulsidas may not have a regular income for long.
The Palyekar family hardships were recently raised by Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida where he asked for an air-conditioner for the family as advised by doctors to keep Tejas in cool surrounding, but the family needs much more than that.
“I never thought that a day like this would come when I would be forced to seek a loan from friends and family. I don’t need much but my injured son requires special attention as he is still unwell. We only demand that the government consider our requests, including a government job for my son after he recovers and completes his studies,” said Tulsidas.
The naphtha fire left several other tragedies. Soumitra Sankar Das, Leading Air Mechanic (LAM), INS Hansa and his wife Swati died in the first naphtha fire. The couple had been married barely a few months before the tragedy. Kuyaram Hiragir the 21 year old bhelpuri seller whose accidental lighting of a match near the naphtha leakage site triggered the fire died within hours and his family is yet to believe that their son is no more. The naphtha fire left five dead but the horror will play again and again in Dactollem’s
memory.
