Daughter no more, minor son in ICU

Divya Sharma
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, October 21

Anita drops onto her knees every now and then outside the intensive care unit at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH). After losing her daughter Nandini to the Friday tragedy, she mumbles continuously, praying for the well-being of her son Vansh, who is critical.

Both her kids had gone to enjoy Dasehra celebrations with their father Deepak, a daily wager who has suffered a head injury.

Accompanied by her family members, Anita is in a state of shock. "They were excited while leaving for the fair. I didn't know that it was my last meeting with Nandini,” she says.

“My daughter is no more. I want Vansh to be fine. I was at home at the time of the incident. The uproar near my residence made me aware of the tragedy,” adds a frail-looking Anita.

Rishab, uncle of Vansh and Nandini, recalls the frantic search he undertook for them. “I saw them standing on the track. I was on the other track and got aside the moment I saw the train all of a sudden. They were on the other track. I found Nandini dead. Vansh was critically injured," he recalls.

Prof Rakesh Sharma, department of surgery, GMC, said, “Vansh was in a terrible state when he was brought here due to a major loss of blood. We had to remove his spleen. It took us hours to operate on him. Now, the child is out of danger."

Vansh will have to take care of his immunity and might be prone to certain diseases, adds Sharma. Vansh’s grandparents had migrated from Uttar Pradesh around 30 years ago here in search of a better life.