Delhi Blast survivors face hardships without government aid

As the survivors of the blast near Red Fort try to piece back their lives, a fortnight since their lives were upturned, they struggle to sustain themselves due to loss of jobs and livelihoods and no government support.

While the blast killed at least 14 people, it left more than 20 people injured.

In  a one room kitchen rented house in Noida, Bhawani Shankar (34) racks his brain to think of all possible ways he could stop the deduction of an upcoming EMI of ₹18,400 on December 10, 2025. The outstanding EMI is for a four wheeler he had purchased 10 months back whose whereabouts he does not know.

“I bought the vehicle so that after paying platform fees for Uber and Ola, I could at least take home ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 a month without having to give a cut to a renter,” says Shankar. However, with no vehicle and still being in a cast for his burn injuries, he added the lack of government financial support is stinging him.

The upcoming EMI installment will not only eat into the savings but also contribute to nothing, says Shankar, who incurred serious burn injuries in his left arm and left side of his face. “The authorities have not clarified where my car is and what state it is in; they have not even allowed the insurance companies to survey it,” he said. Shankar is one of the many vehicle owners and drivers who lost their vehicle in the “suicide bombing” on November 10. 

Yasin Ansari, an e-rickshaw driver found himself in a similar position after he lost his e-rickshaw in the incident. The resident of Karawal Nagar, who had sold his wife’s gold jewellery to purchase a e-rickshaw for ₹2 lakh, has been rendered without any means of making a living.

“I am torn between leaving for my village in U.P. or sticking around and not uprooting my childhood from their schools and lives here,” said Ansari. Lamenting that he had heard that the Sheila Dixit Government had handed out government aid within days of Delhi blast years back, he told The Hindu that loss of livelihood has made survival in the Capital extremely difficult. The e-rickshaw driver who incurred burns on his feet and a head injury, at present is reaching out to previous employers to get stitching gigs for both him and his wife. “Stitching work does not pay well but something is better than nothing,” says Yasin.

Meanwhile, the blast has completely upturned Shania Parveen’s (23) life completely. Parveen, a resident of Daryaganj who used to work as an accountant lost her private sector job after she failed to go to her work place while she was receiving treatment at LNJP. “I was barely in a place to inform my boss so my father informed them on the morning of November 11th,” said Parveen. Days later, Parveen received a text message from her employer informing that she had been let go due to her absence.

In that week, one hand I was informed that I had damaged my hearing due to the blast’s impact and that I had been fired over night, recalls Parveen. The blow turned brutal when her marriage was postponed indefinitely. “On November 10 I had gone to Chandni Chowk to shop for my wedding and to buy medicines for my ailing father, now I don’t know when I will be getting married,” she said. While Parveen has been given medicines for two weeks, doctors at LNJP have informed her that she needs to undergo a surgery to regain proper hearing abilities, however there is little to no clarity over where the procedure would be conducted and who would be bearing the costs, she added.

With a substantial amount of uncertainty awaiting her, Parveen says that government aid in these moments would have helped those like her navigate these uncertain times.