More than a month-and-a-half after the Dilsukhnagar twin blasts, the GHMC handed over a cheque for Rs. 5.81 lakh — collected from half-day basic salary of the Corporation’s employees’— to the wife of V. Ramulu. Fifty-six-year-old Ramulu, working as a superintendent in the urban community department, was at Dilsukhnagar with some personal work when he was killed in the blast.
GHMC Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu handed over the money to Andalu, his wife, in the presence of senior officials in his chambers on Wednesday.
Although the family has received the fellow employees’ contribution in addition to the government compensation of Rs. 6 lakh, there has been some inexplicable delay. Within a couple of days of the blast, the Commissioner led all the employees in organising a condolence meeting where it was decided to donate half-day pay to the bereaved family.
However, till the victim’s brother-in-law Narasimha, also working in the civic body, began to enquire about the promised sum, everyone forgot about it.
Senior officials in the know of things informed that half-day’s pay was cut from the employees last month itself but there was undue lethargy in processing the cheque.
The file was moving from desk to another till the family members got into act. A few conscientious officials too, in the meantime, after having read in the media about the travails of other blast victims in getting proper treatment and compensation got involved.
It was then that the cheque preparation for disbursement was expedited even before the higher-ups got a wind of it. Ramulu’s family was also assured of full pension benefits and a junior assistant post.
