A tiny room, meagre salary are all she has to survive | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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A tiny room, meagre salary are all she has to survive

Hindustan Times | ByRajat Arora, New Delhi
Dec 13, 2011 12:06 AM IST

A photograph being garlanded every year on December 13 in Parliament may seem like an honour to some, but the same picture in a 10x10 foot room, with an attached kitchen, can bring tears to the eyes of many visitors.

A photograph being garlanded every year on December 13 in Parliament may seem like an honour to some, but the same picture in a 10x10 foot room, with an attached kitchen, can bring tears to the eyes of many visitors.

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HT Image

Sunita, 31, the widow of ANI cameraman Vikram Bisht, lives in a tiny room — big enough to accommodate only a bed and two chairs — in Ghaziabad's Vaishali, along with her two kids.

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A black steel trunk kept in the room, which also doubles as a study table to little Priya, has Bisht's name painted in block letters along with ANI/BBC News.

A framed picture of Bisht with the then prime minister AB Vajpayee is kept safely in a small showcase placed above the bed.

"He used to accompany many high-profile ministers during their foreign trips. No one visited us even once after he died; not even people from his news agency," said Sunita, who gave birth to girl just two months before her husband was shot dead by terrorists in Parliament.

"I haven't seen my father. All I have, are his pictures," says Naveen, who has just got a bicycle as a birthday gift from his uncle.

Sunita works with a local Hindi news channel and her two children — Naveen, 12 and Priya, 11 — go to a nearby school. "I was 20-year-old when Vikram died. No one offered me a job. I started working two years ago, and earn Rs 8,000 per month, most of which goes into the education of my kids," added Sunita.

Some of the martyrs' families were allotted petrol pumps by the government, whereas Sunita, who had to look after a 2 month old and a one-year-old at that time, wasn't even given a government job, despite requesting the chief minister several times.

"They can't provide me with a job, forget free education for my kids. They can't even hang Afzal Guru. They can feed terrorists in jail, but can't feed the family of victims. It's been 10 years since it happened, but I still can't help but cry when I go to bed everyday," Sunita said.

Unveiling 'Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!
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