BAREILLY: Residents of Bhanderi village in UP's Shahjahanpur were in shock and mourning after 10 out of 26 locals working at the "electronics factory" in Hapur died in the blast on Saturday. Village head Ranveer Kumar said many from the village had left for Delhi, where the victims are being treated.
Village's head Ranveer Kumar said many from the village had left for Delhi, where the victims are being treated. "Some of them would be returning with the dead soon. No one has cooked food in their homes," he added. Twenty-four-year-old Ramu Kumar, who had recently joined the factory to earn more before the birth of his first child, was among those who died in the incident. His seven-month-pregnant wife locked herself inside her house after hearing the tragic news.
Surjeet, who goes by his first name only, had high fever and returned home from the factory a week ago to rest. Unfortunately, his brother was still there during the blast and is currently in hospital with injuries. He said, "We were not allowed to move out of the unit and were strictly told to not tell anyone about what was being manufactured inside. We didn't realise that the work we were doing was so dangerous."
Bhanderi village, with a population of roughly 3,000, is situated nearly 280 km away from Hapur district. Most residents belong to the Nat community or other backward castes and make their ends meet by working hard every day as labourers. A majority don't have agricultural land.
Sunil Kumar, who lost four members of his family -- Anil Kumar, Chhaviram, Prempal and Raghvendra Kumar -- told TOI, "Nine from my family were working there. We have come to know that four of them died and the rest have suffered injuries."
Meanwhile, an aggrieved mother who lost her 25-year-old son in the blast said, "My son lost his job because of the lockdown. One day, a local contractor offered him work at a packaging unit, offering a salary of Rs 10,000 per month. He realised that it was dangerous but there were no other employment opportunities."
ADM Ramsewak Dwivedi said, "We have provided all possible help to the family and compensation would be rewarded as per guidelines."
