ANI file photo
NEW DELHI: For Rohit (26), who left his village in Bihar for Delhi in search of a better future, life has turned upside down after the June 3 fire at the Hauz Rani bed and breakfast.Rohit worked in the B&B kitchen. He was on duty when the blaze broke out.Fearing for two colleagues from his village who were working upstairs, he rushed to the first floor to save them. Trapped in the flames, the three barricaded themselves inside a room and smashed open a window using a bathroom bucket before leaping to safety. Rohit ensured that his colleagues got out first. He was the last to jump.Today, he is bedridden in his rented room in Khirki Extension. His spine is held together with metal rods and his body has multiple fractures. “I have not received any compensation from either of the govts,” Rohit told TOI. His sister, Renu, who now cares for him full-time, said the family was struggling to survive. “Even if the compensation comes, how will it be enough to sustain our entire family?” she asked.After Rohit jumped out of the burning building, local people rushed him to a nearby private hospital, where he got preliminary treatment.For his family, however, the hope of financial stability seems like a distant dream. With no steady income and mounting expenses for medicines, follow-up care and transportation, every day has become a struggle. A local NGO has helped keep the family afloat by providing food over the past two weeks. However, the uncertainty of what lies ahead weighs heavily on them.Before the fire, Rohit earned Rs 12,000 a month, while his wife and sister worked as domestic helps in Malviya Nagar to supplement the family’s income. Rohit’s younger son, aged 9 years, lived with him in Delhi and gets home tutoring. His older son studies in Bihar. With Rohit unable to work and the two women forced to quit their jobs to care for him, the family has been compelled to halt the education of both the kids.Nearly two weeks after the tragedy, the family says it is waiting for the promised compensation.
