Blast that shook their lives

 The flower girl, who received injuries on her head, hands and legs, is now undergoing treatment at Shiv Prasad Gupta Hospital in the temple city. Her mother Asha Saini, who was also selling flowers at some distance, escaped unhurt.

“She has been crying ever since she regained consciousness. She is so scared that I doubt if she will be able to sell flowers again,” Asha says, as she caresses her daughter gently on her face.

Asha’s family has been involved in selling flowers for the past many years and they do brisk business during the Ganga Arti. “We heard a loud bang and then people started running for safety,” she told Deccan Herald here on Wednesday.

For Bipin Tewari from Deoria, the tragedy is unforgettable. “I had come to Varanasi to get my ailing son treated. I had gone to the ghat to witness the “arti,” as people said it was worth watching,” he said.

Tewari, who suffered serious injuries on the head and had a fractured arm, complained of hearing loss also. In fact, many of the injured said they were not able to hear properly. “The sound of the blast may have impacted their ear drum,” the doctors attending on them said.

Arjun Prasad Verma, a resident of Patna and a devout Hindu, had come to the city to watch the famous “arti.” Verma has received injuries in his right eye. “I was very near the blast site. I fainted after it occurred,” he said.

Doctors said Verma was brought to hospital by the locals. A majority of the injured were locals earning their livelihood by doing petty business at the ghats. Forty-five-year-old Gopal Modak, who sells jhalmurhi (a spicy item prepared with dry boiled rice) has been injured in the legs, ears and eyes.

For Gherau Ram, who sells chana (roasted gram) at the ghats, the blast means loss of business for many days. “I have been selling ‘chana’ for the last 40 years. Never have I witnessed anything of this sort,” he said.

“At first, I could not understand what happened and then I saw people falling on the ground…there was a stampede and many people were trampled also,” he said.