Uphaar Fire Tragedy: Twenty four years of grieving

Uphaar Fire Tragedy: Twenty four years of grieving

Twenty-four years ago, on the 13^th of June 1997, our world came crashing down forever when we (Shekhar and I) lost both our beloved children, Unnati ( then 17 years old) and Ujjwal (13 years),   in the manmade Uphaar fire tragedy which claimed the lives of 59 innocent people including our children. The most difficult loss to deal with is that of children. As parents we should never outlive our children. So the anniversary of our children’s death is the most painful and difficult time for us as parents.

Despite our long drawn legal battle of over two decades to seek justice for our children and other victims of the fire, the criminal justice system has failed to deliver justice. The judicial system thought it appropriate to impose a fine of Rs 60 crores to the convicted Ansal brothers in lieu of the sentence awarded to them  for the death of 59 people. What pains us doubly is the fact that the Trauma Centre to be set up with this blood money i.e Rs 60 Crores provided to Delhi Government in the year 2015   has still not seen the light of day. Had the Government built this Trauma Centre it could currently have been converted into a Covid Centre for the public and many lives could have been saved.

There was a glimmer of hope that Delhi would  get another Trauma Centre in Dwarka  when the Supreme Court  on  June 19^th, 2020 in a  Suo Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No.7/2020,  while dealing with the care and treatment being provided to Covid-19 patients, had specifically queried the Ld. Addl. Solicitor General (ASG) appearing for the Govt. of NCT, as to the status of the proposed Trauma Centre in terms of the judgment(s) rendered in the Uphaar Tragedy Case. However, despite an assurance given by the Ld. ASG to revert on the matter, no information was thereupon provided. Surprisingly there are no further directions in this regard by the Supreme Court.

Every year since 1997, on the 13^th of June, the families of the 59 victims of the Uphaar tragedy have congregated at a spot close to the infamous Uphaar cinema to remember their loved ones and pray. Later a memorial was also built at the same spot and became the location for a prayer meeting organized by AVUT. For the second year running  we will not be able to congregate even to pray for our loved ones. The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed us of even this annual opportunity to formally remember those whom we loved and lost.

We are anguished to witness the abysmal  health care crisis Delhi has gone through. It is a repeat of 1997 (the year of the Uphaar fire)  , when there were no ambulances  and no oxygen  to ferry the injured to the hospitals . The injured were carried  in PCR vans and tempos . Will anyone be held accountable for the state of the country in the face of this health emergency?

We fought tirelessly for accountability and safety in public spaces. But, are public spaces safe today?