BHOPAL: A pall of gloom unfolded at Nemawar Ghat in Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday as 18 funeral pyres were lit for the villagers who died in a firecracker factory explosion in Gujarat on Tuesday. The deceased belonged to three villages in two neighboring districts.Out of the 18 people whose last rites were performed on the banks of the Narmada River, nine were from Sandalpur village in Dewas, eight from Handiya village in Harda district, and one from Hatpipliya in Dewas.The Gujarat government has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the deceased, while the Madhya Pradesh government has sanctioned Rs 2 lakh. However, in Sandalpur village, an entire family of six perished, leaving no one to claim the compensation.“Entire family of six headed by our aunt Keshar Bai and also including her son Lakhan, daughter-in-law Sunita and three children (Keshar Bai’s children), Radha, Rukma and Abhishek (aged between 7 and 10 years) have died in the Gujarat factory blast. Now who will get the compensation sum, when the entire family has passed away in the tragedy,” said Keshar Bai’s niece, Krishna Bai.“Two years back, our uncle Gangaram Bhopa passed away, leaving behind widow Keshar Bai and his young son Lakhan to manage the family, comprising three minors, including two daughters and a son. Then Lakhan’s marriage happened with Sunita for which the family had borrowed Rs 40,000 and it was to repay that sum that the entire family went to Gujarat to earn money,” said Keshar Bai’s nephew Pyarelal.
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