Day after Dombivli blasts, Sonarpada residents still reel under shock

Residents of Sonarpada are still in shock after a chemical factory blast. Many were injured and houses damaged. Uncertain about compensation.

MUMBAI: A day after multiple blasts rocked a chemical factory in Dombivli MIDC, killing eight people and injuring over 60 persons, residents of Sonarpada, a neighbourhood opposite the incident site, were still reeling under shock.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials carry a dead body on a stretcher at the site of a blast at a chemical factory in Dombivli, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India (REUTERS)

The residents interacted with surveyors from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), who were there to assess damages, but remained unsure about whether they would receive any compensation. Haunted by memories of Thursday’s fateful incident, they also found it difficult to move on or even perform simple household chores.

“I didn’t cook the whole day. I couldn’t even sleep through the night. Every small sound now scares me now,” said Anita Ahire, 43, a resident of Sai Residency in Sonarpada. She was at home when the blasts occurred – her window pane was shattered and the glass fell on her back, injuring her. “I fainted immediately. The neighbors came and took me out,” she said.

Most others who live in the neighbourhood shared similar stories of shock, injuries and damage to their houses. “When I heard the sound (of explosion), I thought it was an earthquake. The whole building was shaking, and electricity also went off,” said 40-year-old Sunita Ramesh. Assuming that it was an earthquake, she and other residents rushed downstairs and took refuge in a forested patch behind their building.

Karishma Rathore, who was sleeping with her one-month-old child when the explosions shattered her glass window, said, “My baby started bleeding because small glasses fell on him. I thought we were going to die.”

Many like Dastagir Sheikh were also forced to take leave from work to deal with the aftermath. Sheikh was sleeping at home with his wife and daughter when a part of the ceiling collapsed and fell on his head. “We work as daily wage workers. But we could not go to work today because of the incident,” he said.

Others said they were doubtful about receiving compensation even as they shared details of their losses with surveyors. “I am not sure how much we will get. Every time something like this happens, it is always the poor who have to face damages the most,” said 54-year-old Vijay Ahire.