He didn't wait to mourn his dead, saved neighbours

He didn't wait to mourn his dead, saved neighbours
JOYDEEP RAY

AHMEDABAD, FEB 13: Till January 25, Bakul Chauhan was thoroughly satisfied with life. The 46-year-old mechanic at Lohia Automobiles Ltd. had put his life's savings into his dream home -- a fifth-floor flat at Sundervan Apartments in Ranip area. Wife Manu and two sons were also equally thrilled in their new apartment.

Next morning, the world changed for Chauhan when his dream home came crashing down like a pack of cards. Before he knew what hit them, Bakul was extricating the bodies of his wife and children.

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The shock of the tragedy and the enormity of his loss could have numbed him. But world didn't end for Bakul even after everything he apparently aspired to live for, was reduced to naught. Sensing that there were many trapped under rubble and that not all of them would be as unlucky as his wife and kids, he immediately set to work and dug out seven persons to life.

Recalling that fateful day, Bakul says he had been at his brother's place in Dariapur since it was a holiday. ``I reached home at around 8-30 am. After meeting my wife and sons, I decided to go to the local market. But even before I could start my scooter, I heard a loud sound and felt the tremor. It was like an explosion and soon the entire building came crashing down,'' he told The Indian Express.

Without sparing a moment's thought, Bakul started trying to get his wife and sons out. But it was only their bodies that he managed to extricate.

``After that I started looking for a vehicle to take them to hospital but there was nothing in sight,'' he says, adding that he suddenly noticed his neighbours trapped under the rubble. ``I forgot about my family members for that moment and decided to rescue the family of my neighbour Lakhu Chavda. With my bare hands, I removed all four of them from under the concrete slabs before I went to rescue three other neighbours,'' he recalled.

After some time, another resident Bharat Pathak joined him and together they arranged for two vehicles. All the seven rescued as well as bodies of Bakul's family members were taken to the Civil Hospital.

While the doctors declared Bakul's wife and sons dead on arrival, five of the seven residents are still recuperating at the Civil Hospital and two were released on Sunday. ``He has given us a second life. If he had not saved us in time we might have died under debris,'' says Raju Chavda, one of the survivors. Bakul had rescued Raju, his sisters Devi and Varsha and their mother Krishna.

Bakul does not care for any award or recognition. All he hopes for is that the builder Amit Pothiya and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) officials who legalised the faulty construction get the punishment they deserve.