Mumbai: One more burn victim in Kandivli fire succumbs

Two people had died in the fire in Pavan Dham Veena Santoor building in Kandivli last week. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Rajeshwari Bhartare, 24, one of the last two surviving victims of the fire that broke out at the Pavan Dham Veena Santoor building in Kandivli, succumbed to her burns on Friday evening. Her 21-year-old brother, Krishna, who has come to Mumbai along with their mother, Devkabai, from their village, Ramunaik Tanda, in Ummerkhed taluka under Yavatmal district, stated that the family will now be taking her body to Nair Hospital for a post-mortem.

"In the morning, we will be heading to our village along with her," he said. Devkabai and her husband, Bharat, are farmers back in their village, while Krishna was preparing for police recruitment exams in Amravati. Pravin Mule, Rajeshwari's cousin, said, "We are just trying to take care of her mother now. I am afraid something will happen to her, too, because of stress and trauma."

Meanwhile, her father is still unaware that his daughter is no longer with us. "My father has a lot of health issues. I cannot tell him about this over the phone," Krishna said. A portion of Rajeshwari's monthly salary of Rs 15,000, earned working as a caregiver for the elderly with Hyderabad-based Curans Care & Wellness, went towards her brother's education, and the other portion was sent back home to her parents.

She was transferred to Kandivli from Hyderabad by the company to work as a 24/7 in-house caregiver for one of the 75-year-old residents, whose daughter and six-year-old grandson also perished in the fire. "We only hope that Curans will continue her salary for some time as a form of assistance to her family," Mule said.

Meanwhile, another survivor, 40-year-old Laxmi Yadav, is still struggling for her life. "Doctors have stated that her condition is improving," said her 17-year-old son, Mahesh. Both Laxmi and Rajeshwari worked as domestic help in the same house and sustained serious injuries while trying to escape with the other two victims of the tragedy.