MM: When I woke up, my legs were gone: June 26, 2009

 

Seventeen-year-old Sameer Zaveri saw the train approaching Borivli railway station. He quickly made a dash for the tracks, confident that he would make it to the other side before the local reached the platform. But it went horribly wrong-the train hit Zaveri, and much later, when he regained consciousness at a nearby hospital, both his legs were gone.

That split second decision to avoid the overbridge and cross the tracks on August 26, 1989 turned Zaveri’s life upside down. Before the accident, Zaveri, the eldest son and only earning member of the family, had everything going for him-the pearl company he worked for was about to put him in charge of its unit in Hong Kong, and on the personal front, he had chosen the girl he wanted to marry. But when he lost his legs, his employers turned their back on him and his bride-to-be, who was also a distant relative, changed her mind. No relatives stood by him during this difficult time.

It took three months for Zaveri’s physical wounds to heal, but even after 20 years, the mental scars remain. “The incident gave me an insight into the real world. In a moment, I had became unwanted and a burden for others. I had seen the train approaching, yet I thought I would easily make it to the other side of the track. I was obviously wrong,” says Zaveri, now 37.

Zaveri initially found it difficult to cope with the trauma. Dr P H Vora of Harkisan Das Hospital gave him courage and advised him to approach the Jaipur Foot Centre at JJ Hospital. “Living with artificial feet wasn’t easy. I always needed someone or the other to support me. My movement was restricted to the neighbourhood, and so people denied me jobs,” recalls Zaveri.

Over the next few years, Zaveri started a business of his own and got married to another girl. His life eased a bit when he bought a two-wheeler. But at every step, he realised how helpless and lonely a handicapped person feels.

Zaveri then started visiting and counselling railway accident victims in hospital. He also brought many accident victims to the Jaipur Foot Center, to get their services free of charge. He worked as project director for Red Swastik, an NGO that provides ambulances at railway stations. However, the ambulances were withdrawn from service a year ago over a dispute with the railway authorities.

“People who cross the tracks break the rules, so they are offenders. They should not be treated as criminals. The railways should try to better insufficient infrastructure. Not everyone is as lucky as me to survive such an accident. People should be warned about this. I want railway tickets to have a statutory warning about trespassing like the caution note on cigarette packets,” declares Zaveri.

 

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