New Delhi: Three weeks since exposure to deadly radiation sent 19-year-old Gaurav to the hospital, his relatives have been waiting anxiously. Most of them are daily wage workers, giving up their earnings.
For them, death of 35-year-old Rajinder has come as a shock.
"We are afraid now after the death; we also hope our patient is shifted," said one of the relatives Ramesh.
Gaurav is the youngest of four scrap workers who are fighting for their lives after being exposed to lethal Cobalt-60. Two critical patients are waiting for bone marrow transplants; their bone marrow reserve is almost down to zero.
But weeks after India's first radiation accident, safety measures are still being discussed.
"Our ports are still not equipped to identify such scrap material which could prove to be radioactive," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said.
After all this time, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), which has been monitoring the radiation cases, organised a workshop on Wednesday to train doctors to handle radiation patients.
"We have facilities, but they need to be modified. We don't expect CBRN to be available in every hospital. Some earmarked hospitals should be there. Gradually we will move out of Delhi to go to other states as well," said J Bhardwaj, an NDMA member.
On Wednesday the Delhi government announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the deceased. But with India having witnessed one death already, and other critical patients still hospitalised, is it not time for the government to prepare an infrastructure as well as a safety net to avoid further radioactive accidents?