Delhi manhole mishap: Victim Satish Kumar ‘was always willing to help people’

Satish was one of four people who died inside a sewer in outer Delhi’s Samaypur Badli area after being stuck in it since Tuesday evening

NEW DELHI: A gym instructor-turned-e-rickshaw driver, Satish Kumar (38) is remembered as a man who was always willing to help people around him, and it was this very reason why he stopped his vehicle when he saw a crowd at EW Block in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar on Tuesday evening. A fateful turn of events ensues, adversely impacting the lives of his loved ones forever.

Delhi manhole mishap victim Satish Kumar. (HT Photo)

On Wednesday, his wife Neha (35) sat numb outside their residence in Rohini. Her eyes were staring at their three daughters – aged 13, 9 and 2 years. “She has never worked in her entire life. She doesn’t know how the world works. How will she raise [the children] now?” worried her sister Neeru.

Neeru said she was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and on one occasion, when there was no one to take her for chemotherapy, it was Satish who came forward to help. “He left his work and came to help me. I still remember how tough that day was and how Satish helped me,” she said.

Satish was one of four people who died inside a sewer in outer Delhi’s Samaypur Badli area after being stuck in it since Tuesday evening. Their bodies were taken out on Wednesday after a 10-hour-long joint operation by the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service and the National Disaster Response Force.

Another relative Mohan Aggarwal said Satish was never financially sound, but always helped everyone around him. “Why did he help this time? Did he not know that he had three daughters to take care of?” cried his elder brother Krishan Kumar.

The family said that Satish was a gym constructor by profession, but after the Covid-induced lockdown was announced in 2020, he lost his job. He then juggled between working as a welder and a daily wager. Later, he started to work as an e-rickshaw driver to make ends meet.

“On Tuesday, he came home for lunch and asked his wife about the food requirements at home and told her that he’ll bring supplies while returning around 10 pm,” Neeru said.

Satish’s family, including his widowed mother, lives in a rented accommodation in Rohini. Their house was so small that they had to install a tent outside his elder brother’s house to conduct the last rites.

A few generous locals are raising funds for the family members to help them deal with the financial setback. Their neighbours have requested the government to intervene and provide a job for his widow.