“It Was Tough to Breathe,” Bawana Blaze Survivor Recounts Horror

“I found it difficult to breathe, my stomach hurt”, recalls a survivor of the Bawana blaze that killed 17 workers.

Eighteen-year-old Chanchal Kumari calmly sits on one corner of the road in Metro Vihar and stitches a blanket. One look at her from across the road, and you can barely tell that she escaped death by an inch just a few days ago. She survived the inferno that claimed 17 lives in an illegal firecracker unit in Bawana in North Delhi, only because she and two other women, including her sister-in-law, protested the toxic environment inside the unit and left before the ill-fated fire.

A closer look at Chanchal makes it clear that she is haunted by the deaths of her friends and fellow workers, and also the fact that her hands and feet are visibly yellow.

We reached the factory at 10 am and were asked to start packaging the products. Some were weighing the products and some of us were packaging it. The colour from these items were staining our hands, and we were inhaling it. I found it difficult to breathe and my stomach hurt, even our spit and urine was yellow in colour.

Chanchal Kumari, former worker at the Bawana factory

Chanchal had no idea what she and her colleagues were working with; she says she received no information from the owners or the supervisor since it was her first and last day at the unit.

My sister-in-law was feeling sick, we told them (supervisors) that we want to go home, took our payment worth Rs 200 right then, and left at 5:30 pm as we never wanted to return.

Chanchal Kumari, former worker at the Bawana factory

Half an hour after Chanchal left, a massive fire broke out inside the factory, trapping everyone inside.

Almost every lane in Metro Vihar B-Block, just four kilometres away from the factory, has a grieving family that has lost someone in the tragedy.

42-year-old Kiran Devi is inconsolable after losing her sister, Baby. 41-year-old Baby was working at the unit for the last five years. Kiran recollects that Baby too, complained about the working conditions time and again, but had no option but to continue as she was the sole breadwinner for a family of four.

She used to return from work with her hands stained yellow all the time. I asked her why were her hands yellow? She said, they handle colours and work with plastic. She also said she found it very difficult to breathe and her throat used to burn. She was planning on leaving, but every time, she kept delaying.

Kiran Devi, sister of a victim

Despite being on leave on 20 January (Saturday), Baby left for work by 9:30 am. She told her sister that working on Saturday meant earning Rs 200 in addition to the Rs 200 daily wage, and if she refused work, the owner would deduct her wage from a weekday shift.

What will happen to her two children now? Even her husband is differently-abled, he can’t work.

Kiran Devi, sister of a victim

In the 45 days that she worked at the unit, 17-year-old Rita Kumari fell sick on more than one occasion. Recollecting the events of 20 January, her brother said, Rita left for the factory at 8:30 am.

She was supposed to have finished work by 5 pm but like always, the owner asked her to work overtime, otherwise threatening to deduct her wages. They also kept threatening to fire her from her job if she didn’t work till 9 pm. We then heard about the fire, rushed to the hospital and waited five hours before the doctors finally released her body. It was charred and almost unrecognisable.

Deepu Kumar, son of a victim

Forty-five-year-old Asha Sharma, who lives in the building next to the factory, raised an alarm immediately after the fire broke out at 6:30 pm.

I was cooking when I heard a loud sound, and it sounded like a firecracker. We ran to the terrace and saw that there was a huge fire. A man standing on the terrace jumped to the empty plot right next to the building before me. I called my husband and we rushed outside. The main door to the factory was locked.

Asha Sharma, eyewitness

Like most families, 55-year-old Madina Begum’s family too, was clueless that the factory she was working in was illegally packing firecrackers.

My mother used to tell us that they work with colours, but on Saturday, we found out that they used to work with firecrackers. Her hands and legs used to be yellow. She also told us that on Saturdays, they used to lock the factory from outside. Even though it was supposed to be a holiday, they used to work a double shift, so just in case someone came by to check whether the factory was open, they used to lock it from outside.

Mubina Begum, daughter of a victim

Madina was the sole breadwinner for a family of six. She also took care of the medical bills for her two differently-abled children.

The Delhi police have arrested one person in connection with the fire and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has promised Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased. This however, is far from guaranteeing the safety of the hundreds of migrant labourers who work in the factories of Bawana.