Tears, anger mark day of tributes

Surat: Emotional scenes were witnessed outside the Takshahila Arcade when parents and relatives paid homage to the 22 children, whose lives were snuffed out in the devastating fire exactly a month ago.
It was a lump in the throat moment for bystanders too as parents cried inconsolably while garlanding the photographs of their sons and daughters. They lit incense sticks and observed two-minute silence in the remembrance of their wards. Many mothers even remained glued to the photographs while crying.
On May 24, the fire on fourth floor had claimed lives of students attending a coaching class with many of them dying of jumping from the top to save themselves from the blaze and smoke.
Many even wanted to go the fourth floor to collect the belongings of their children, but that was not possible as the upper floors are locked.
The parents even threatened to start an indefinite fast if strict actions are not taken against the senior civic officials responsible for the tragedy. They expressed anger over lack of action against the top officials of the concerned government bodies. They rued that police arrested some officers, but those at the top in Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) are still scot-free.
“If strict action is not taken by police in the next two days, we will sit on an indefinite fast. We are going to meet chief minister in a day or two and make a representation in this regard,” said Mahesh Vekariya, whose 17-year-old daughter Janhvi was one of the victims.
There were anxious moments too when Dipak Patel, an RTI activist, announced sitting on an indefinite fast at the spot. He was supported by some parents and they sat under the flyover opposite the ill-fated building. Soon, police arrived at the spot and tried to detain Patel, leading to angry protests from parents and others who shouted slogans decrying police action.
Police had to call additional force and Patel was detained.