By Adeeb Walter
LUCKNOW: Mahesh, father of the contractual sanitary worker Karan (19) who died while cleaning the blocked sewer line at Saadatganj on Tuesday, broke down several times while narrating how he saw his son gasping for breath after inhaling toxic fumes, while he kept pleading others to save him.
The other victim, Pooran (37), was the lone bread earner of his family of five. The tragedy has left the family shattered as they now face the challenge of survival.
Mahesh, who is also a sanitation worker, was numb for hours after the incident. He was present at the spot when his son Karan and Pooran climbed down to clean the sewer. He has a breathing problem, so he did not go inside. When he saw his son losing his breath, he started pleading with others for help.
Their co-worker Kailash rushed down to rescue Karan and Pooran, but he too lost consciousness due to toxic gases, but is alive and recuperating in hospital.
An inconsolable Mahesh later told TOI, “I had never even in my wildest dream imagined that I would witness my son dying bit by bit in front of me and I won’t be able to do anything to save my child. I still cannot believe that I’ve lost my son, we always used to work together.”
Karan’s mother Sangeeta, while weeping inconsolably, said, “I served breakfast to my husband and son in the morning before they left for work. I had no idea that I would be feeding my son for the last time.”
Pooran is survived by three kids aged three, 10 and 12 years, his wife Sanjana and mother. The tragedy has left Sanjana desolate even as she grapples with how to tell her children about their father’s death and how to feed them now.
“My kids are too small to understand this. What will I say when they will ask where their father is? He was the only earning member of our family. My mother-in-law is in her 80s,” she lamented.
