Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
By Dheeraj Fartode
A city girl Anuradha Nikumbh, used Twitter to reach out to External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj and locate her father Vasudeosingh Nikumbh (63) in Nepal after the earthquake. She had Twitted “"I had been trying hard since afternoon to reach out Ministry of External Affairs through phone. My dad is in Kathmandu I am unable to contact please help people like us.”" Minutes after her tweet, Sushma Swaraj asked for details about her father.
For Anuradha, she is currently working in Pune, it was a sort of a shock as she did not anticipate such a fast response and that to from an Union Minister. But gathering herself she uploaded picture of her father along with all other details.
 |
| A grab of tweets exchanged between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Anuradha on Twitter. |
After two hours, her mother received an information at Nagpur that Vasudevsingh Nikumbh (62) was traced in Nepal and he is hale and hearty. The news brought relief in Nikumbh household. Nikumbh is in Nepal for visiting Pashupashinath Temple.
The use of social media and response from External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj has left deep imprint of Nikumbh family.
Anuradha told ‘The Hitavada’ that the family got panicked after hearing news of earthquake in Nepal. “We tried to contact father on mobile phone but it was found to be switched off. Then she recalled about being in touch with External Affairs Minister on Twitter and decided to give it a chance. It was really great experience as Swaraj had responded speedily,” she said.
Sapna Nikumbh, mother of Anuradha, who lives in Somalwada area said, Vasudeosingh left the city on Wednesday. He along with relatives including Thakursingh Nikumbh (64), Gunwansingh Rathod (76), boarded Gorakhpur Express on Wednesday and reached Kathmandu on Friday night. “Vasudeosingh had called on Friday night,” she said. However, the news of Earthquake panicked Sapna on Saturday as she is living alone at home. I was in panic for a day as there was no contact with Vasudeosingh, she said. Thanks Sushma Swaraj and thanks Twitter, she said.
Comments
Post a Comment