Jhabua blast: MP govt plans road in memory of two friends

The devastating blast on September 12 that shook the pastel town of Petlawad in MP also could not wipe away the stories of Prince and Prashant’s friendship.

Things end, but memories are forever. The devastating blast on September 12 that shook the pastel town of Petlawad in MP also could not wipe away the stories of Prince and Prashant’s friendship.

A heartbroken Kavita Tank talks about his son Prince. (Shankar Mourya/HT photo)

The government too plans to name a road in Bamaniya after the two friends now.

The two boys, who were killed in the explosion, belonged to Bamaniya village, about 12 km from the Petlawad town.

On the fateful day, the Class 11 students were heading for their coaching classes when they saw a crowd near the Rajendra Kaswa’s godown.

Curious, the boys made a detour to check out what was amiss.

“They were about to reach the coaching institute when they saw a crowd near the Kaswa’s godown and stopped to see what was happening as fire was coming out from the godown. Suddenly, the second blast took place,” said Prince’s mother Kavita Tank, who runs a general stores in the market.

A heartbroken Kavita said that Prince was the only hope of her family.

“He was very good in studies and wanted to make it to the IITs. We were planning to send him to Kota for further studies, but now nothing is left with us,” she said.

A hardworking boy, Prince used to manage the shop and study in the night to fulfill his IIT dream.

“Jeene kee koi ummed nahi rah gayee ab. Bas bhagwaan se prathana kartee hun ki mujhe bhi utha le (There is no hope in sight. I just pray to god that he also takes my life now),” she says, as tears roll down her cheeks.

About 300 metres away from Prince’s house, Prashant’s father, Rajendra Bhateora, sits at his grocery shop. The death of his beloved son has shaken him to the core.

“He was my only son. I was earning only for him. But all my dreams are shattered,” he says, as tears well up in his eyes.

“My whole life is changed now. I cry everyday behind closed doors. We both had planned to buy an SUV this Diwali,” he says, adding that he had not only lost his son, but also his best friend.

...Till death did them apart

About 20 km from Bamania, in the small village Kodli, villagers salutes the friendship of Manish and Rajesh.

The neighbours, who shared their birth year and were studying in the same class, were seldom seen without the other. The two boys too had gone for coaching on September 12 when they were killed in the explosion.

“Manish was my only son and now I have nothing to do in this world,” says Manish’s father Shyamlal.

“Their friendship was famous in this area. They both went to coaching and they never returned. The whole village is in grief till now. No one goes to the fields. The crops are standing but everyone is shocked till now,” said 70-year-old Sukhram, grandfather of Rajesh.