More than a month after the Red Fort blast, several victims and their families are yet to receive the ex-gratia announced by the Delhi government. Many among the deceased and those seriously injured were sole breadwinners and their families are struggling to make ends meet now.
The Delhi government had announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh each for the families of those killed, ₹5 lakh for victims with permanent disability, ₹2 lakh for those with serious injuries and ₹20,000 for victims with minor injuries.
However, many have not received any compensation from the government. Among the deceased was Nouman Ansari, 18, from Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, who was in the city on the fateful day to buy products for his cosmetics shop back home. His family said he had dropped out of his studies to support them and was the only earning member with his elder brother suffering from kidney ailments.
“The entire family has gone into depression since his death,” said Nouman’s uncle Mahboob Ansari. When asked about the ex-gratia, he said, “After we submitted all documents with the Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Delhi, we were asked to wait. After a week, we were told the SDM will be transferred and all the formalities will be done after that. Then we were told that they were coordinating with Uttar Pradesh government and our local police here but even after all the paperwork, we have not received anything so far,” he said.
