Inside a near-empty ward at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, 19-year-old Nagaraj waits anxiously to see a familiar face. It was just a few hours earlier that this youth was pulled out of the rubble alive after a wall collapse claimed the lives of 11 persons. His father was one of the dead.
Almost two months ago, he and his father Pentaiyya (45), left their home in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, to work at a construction site at Alamathi in Tiruvallur district.
“We were working at this construction site for a wage of Rs. 350 a day. We had put up huts close to the wall. There was heavy wind and rains on Sunday midnight. My father was lying next to me. All I remember is that the wall collapsed and fell down,” he recollected.
Nagaraj said he is likely to have escaped any major injuries as he was lying on the side, while his father was in the centre of the room. His mother Pentamma (40) and 23-year-old brother, a construction worker, are at Srikakulam. He is now waiting for his family members to arrive.
Police said rescuers saw Nagaraj waving his hand from under the rubble. After being pulled out, Nagaraj was shifted to the 24x7 Government Emergency Care Centre at Padiyanallur. He was then shifted to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. Doctors said the boy had sustained minor bruises and CT scan did not show any abnormalities.
