NEWS

'I should have worn shoes'

By Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai
August 25, 2003 19:52 IST

K Daulatana, 33, will always regret not wearing shoes.

Had he been wearing like his friend B Chandrashekhar, he won't be lying at the St George's Hospital.

"I generally don't wear shoes and I regret that decision. I was just five metres away from the blast site of Gateway of India and I felt some like some sword had entered my legs and I just could not move," said Daulatana.

Daulatana and his friend Chandrashekhar were in Mumbai enroute to Dubai. They were to catch a flight on August 26. 

"I told my friend Chandrashekhar in the morning that our visit to Mumbai would be incomplete without visiting the Gateway of India, the landmark of Mumbai. And therefore, we left by noon to see the place. Now, I feel that we should have avoided this place. However, it is very late to regret that decision," said Daulatana.

Chandrashekhar, his friend who accompanied him from Hyderabad, said, "I only wish he was wearing shoes when the blast occurred. The blast particles pierced through his leg and hurt him extremely whereas I was saved because it hit my shoes and the damage was minimum."

"As soon as the blast occurred I saw everyone running helter-skelter. I saw Daulatana limping and I too was not in a good shape because something hit my back. I saw people in pools of blood. Some of them were lying on ground and some shouting and crying. It was complete chaos and no one knew what was happening. Somehow, I got hold of Daulatana and with great difficulties got into a taxi and were dropped to the hospital Chandrashekhar said.

Daulatana is also worried about how he will support his family of three children and his wife back in Hyderabad after the blast.

"I don't know how I will support my family once I am discharged. I paid Rs 100,000 to an agent just to get this job of an electrician. Now, I am not even able to walk on my feet," Daulatana added.

He is also unsure on how long it will take him to recover.

"I don't know when I will recover. The doctors told me that they have to take an X ray of my legs and only then they will let me know about my status. I now want to go back home as soon as possible. I am missing my wife and three children," Daulatana said.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai

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