Tivim's Kauthankars lose 2 family members at Shirgao
Panaji:
When the hearse van screeched outside a cluster of houses at Auchit-Vaddo, Tivim, there were several who crowded the area on Saturday. They were all waiting since morning for a glance at
Tanuja Kauthankar
and her 16-year-old nephew Aditya, both of whom lost their lives in the stampede at the
Lairai Devi Jatra
at Shirgao.
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Tanuja's body was the first to be taken inside the house. Then, just next door, it was Aditya's turn. The cries all around were unbearable. A few women needed help, fainting at a sight that made it painful to keep their eyes open.
Bottles of mineral water kept outside the two houses were quickly emptied.
Amidst all this, Tanish Kauthankar stood stone-faced.
Tanish was part of the 40-member group from the village that had proceeded to Shirgao for the annual jatra.
After prayers at the temple, they were all headed towards the designated area where a massive bonfire is lit and devotees known as 'dhonds' walk barefoot across a bed of embers to seek blessings.
Tanish, a dhond himself, was looking forward to the annual ritual but en route he saw the world collapse in front of him.
'I was just behind and saw that she fell first,' Tanish told
TOI
. 'She got crushed under the weight of everyone falling over her.
We had about seven dhonds from this area alone and had gone there with families. There was so much rush that we had to move inside a house for safety.'
Tanish and Aditya went to the same school, St Anne's, answered the Class 10 exams together and had both secured admission at Saraswat College, Mapusa. They were to travel together every morning for their higher secondary school classes, but fate had something else in store.
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'I just can't believe Aditya's no more. We just could not reach them to help. The ambulance came much later,' he said.
Nobody at the ward could believe what they were seeing. The Kauthankars are a closely knit family living in four homes in the ward, travelling to festivals together. The Lairai Devi Jatra was something they looked forward to every year.
Aditya's father Ankush and grandfather Vaman are both dhonds, strong believers in the deity.
'My brother and I were at home, my son just escaped,' said Rohidas Kauthankar, whose sister-in-law and nephew lost their lives. 'She was unwell and we had asked her not to go for the jatra but she was determined. They all left at 6pm (on Friday) and were to stay there for five days. But look how they have returned.'
Tanuja's daughter Ruthika is also among those injured, her leg fractured. She is bedridden at GMC, yet to be told that her mother is no more.
'This is a result of total mismanagement,' said Arun Shinde, who was among those who gathered outside the two houses with plenty on their minds.
'There were lakhs of people at the Exposition (in Old Goa) but there were plenty of police personnel and dedicated first aid facilities at every step,' he said. 'Here, despite thousands attending, there was neither proper medical services nor police security. It was a mess.'
Another neighbour wondered what happened to the promised tight security and the drones that were supposedly deployed for aerial surveillance.
'People have lost their lives. What do you tell their families,' asked a neighbour, unable to come to terms with the fact that those with whom he exchanged smiles just yesterday are gone today.
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