A survivor of last year’s Coromandel Express crash, whose arms are yet to recover enough from a fracture to be of any use in earning a livelihood, has received some cash in compensation but is still without a source of income.
Ibrahim Sk, who fractured his arms in the triple train tragedy on June 2 last year, has not regained the normal strength in the arms and is unable to do any work.
Ibrahim, 34, lives in a village in the Kakdwip block of South 24-Parganas. Before the train crash, he would work as a mason at construction sites in Bengal and other states and earn between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 a month.
More than 20 people from villages in the block were on their way to work at construction sites in Chennai by the Coromandel Express that met with the deadly accident in Odisha’s Balasore district.
Many of the villagers from Kakdwip died.
The train crash — involving the Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Express and a goods train — had left 292 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.
Ibrahim, who had to undergo surgeries on both his arms at a hospital in Odisha, where he was admitted after the accident, said on Tuesday that he was using up the money he had received as compensation on the daily expenses of his family of five.
“I received Rs 3.1 lakh from the railways and the state government. Also, I got an additional compensation of Rs 1.2 lakh after moving court,” Ibrahim said on Tuesday.
A good part of the money has already been spent.
“I had to pay Rs 20,000 to those who had hired a vehicle and went to Odisha to look for me,” he said.
Ibrahim visits a government hospital in Kakdwip for treatment, including physiotherapy.
“Doctors have told me that it would take about two years to regain strength in my arms. Till then I won’t be able to do anything to earn a living. I don’t know how my family and I will survive,” he said.
A neighbour said Ibrahim is now unable to lift any heavy object because of the injury and hence, cannot resume working as a mason. “He sits idle as he is unfit for most jobs,” the neighbour said.
Ibrahim lives with his three daughters and wife. The daughters are aged five, eight and 13 years. All of them study in schools.
“The private tuition fee for the girls is around Rs 1,000 every month. I am spending the compensation money for their education,” said Ibrahim.
Recalling that fateful night, Ibrahim said: “In my group I am the only survivor. I was lying unconscious after the accident. I regained consciousness at the hospital,” he said.
