The relatives of people who had gone to Colombo are having difficult time getting any information on them. The family of Puttaraju, 37, a resident of Dasarahalli, is still keeping their fingers crossed.
“All the six persons with whom my brother was at Colombo have been declared dead and their bodies traced. We have been trying hard to know his whereabouts – whether he is dead or being treated at a hospital — but to no avail,” said his brother Rudresh.
Twitter accounts of Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy emerged as the sole lifelines for information through the day.
A Colombo-based relative of one of the deceased — K.H. Hanumantharayappa — and Yelahanka MLA S.R. Vishwanath, who rushed to Colombo on Saturday night to trace his relatives, were the go-to contacts in the city.
The kin of seven JD(S) workers sent photographs of them to the two via WhatsApp, using which they went searching all the major hospitals and mortuaries in Colombo.
“Two of my relatives – Purushottam Reddy and Nagaraj Reddy – were missing when I came here. A painful search through every hospital yielded results. The two are being treated in the ICU in different hospitals,” Mr. Vishwanath said over phone from Colombo.
Nagaraj Reddy, 47, a businessman from Koramangala, is being treated at the ICU of General Hospital, Colombo. “His condition is very critical,” he said.
Mr. Vishwanath also said the police mortuary in Colombo has over 200 dead bodies and the authorities have taken photographs of the bodies, their faces and numbered them.
Four bodies were identified — Ramesh Gowda, K.M. Lakshminarayan, M. Rangappa and K.H. Hanumantharayappa — by Monday afternoon. “There are three other bodies found in close proximity to them resembling the other three from the group. But bodies have been charred severely delaying identification,” Mr. Vishwanath said.
Two of these bodies were recognised as that of Maaregowda and Shivakumar later in the day.
A tale of dashed hopes
Rineeth, an engineering student, was yet to come to terms with his loss on Monday. A day before, he had been told that his father, Rangappa, was alive and safe by the Indian High Commission helpline in Sri Lanka.
“When I called the helpline on Sunday in the immediate aftermath of the blasts, they assured me that my father was safe and would be travelling home on a flight on Monday morning at 7 a.m. I was still anxious and called the helpline multiple times, and on Sunday night, the operator even admonished me for calling repeatedly. We then went to sleep,” he recounted.
Rineeth called up the airlines on Monday morning, only to realise that his father’s name was not on the passenger list. “I desperately tried calling the helpline, but could not get through. Soon, the High Commission tweeted confirming the death of two people, including my father’s. I want to know what happened yesterday. How could he be alive yesterday and be dead today?” he asked.
“ This is the only trip I missed”
Ramachandra, 54, a JD(S) leader in Dasarahalli, was yet unable to digest the fact that most of his seven friends who had been to Colombo the day before are dead. It was a trip he missed narrowly.
“We are a group of eight friends who went on trips abroad frequently. We have been to several countries earlier, like Vietnam and Mauritius. I was also supposed to go to Colombo on Saturday night. But I had to attend a religious programme in my village, which is why I had to opt out of the trip this time,” he said.
V-P expresses deep anguish
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed deep anguish over the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka which claimed the lives of several innocent people and said that there was a need for concerted global action to eliminate terror.
Speaking during the convocation of Bangalore University here on Monday, Mr. Naidu said India stands in solidarity with the Sri Lankan government and its people during this distressing time.
He also said there was a need for the United Nations to agree on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism which India had been batting for. “We have to contain and root out terror in all its forms by going to the root cause,” he said.
Politicians join hands
The State government appointed a nodal officer – senior IAS officer Anjum Parvez – to co-ordinate with Sri Lankan and Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka authorities on Monday.
Mr. Parvez said the deaths of six Bengalureans were confirmed apart from one from Mangaluru. “We have requested the High Commission to dispatch the bodies at the earliest to Kempegowda International Airport. The bodies may come by Tuesday evening or Wednesday,” he said.
The crisis also saw politicians fresh out of a pitched battle in the elections unite and help the families of the victims. All the seven JD(S) workers who had visited Sri Lanka had campaigned for Congress candidates Veerappa Moily and Krishna Byre Gowda recently.
The BJP’s D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who fought against Mr. Byre Gowda, and BJP MLA S.R. Vishwanath, on Monday rushed to the help of the families of the victims.
Mr. Sadananda Gowda visited the homes of K.H. Hanumantharayappa and M. Rangappa in the city, consoled the grieving family members and assured them of all support by the union government. He called up Minster of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and co-ordinated efforts in Colombo, sources said.
Meanwhile, S.R. Vishwanath who rushed to Colombo on Saturday night to trace his relatives stranded there, emerged as the point person for the state government and victim's families.
A team of JD(S) leaders led by former MLC E. Krishnappa and Nelamangala JD(S) MLA Dr. K. Srinivasamurthy reached Colombo on Monday night.
Ms. Swaraj is said to have called up Mr. Moily and assured him of speedy arrangements at Colombo. Mr. Moily said he was aghast at the turn of events.
“All the seven of them had worked hard campaigning for me till three days ago and now their lives have been snuffed out like this,” he said.
