This story is from September 17, 2014

Finally, four families of 13/7 blasts victims get 3 lakh each

After a three-year wait and intervention by the court, the families of four men, who were killed in the 13/7 blasts, received Rs 3 lakh each as compensation on Wednesday
Finally, four families of 13/7 blasts victims get 3 lakh each
MUMBAI: After a three-year wait and intervention by the court, the families of four men, who were killed in the 13/7 blasts, received Rs 3 lakh each as compensation on Wednesday.
On July 13, 2011, three bombs exploded at Opera House, Zaveri Bazar and a bus stop in Dadar left 27 dead. Mira Road residents Himmatbhai Gadhiya and Bhupatbhai Navadiya, Baburam Das from Bhayander and Lalchand Ahuja from Ulhasnagar died in the Opera House blast.
Their families had not received the payout of Rs 3 lakh promised under a central scheme. An activist Prakash Sheth had filed a PIL seeking immediate release of funds following which the Bombay high court on Monday directed the state to release the compensation by 5pm on Wednesday.
Each of the four families received the compensation by way of a fixed deposit (FD) in their bank accounts. “I am happy that the wait is finally over,” said Pranoti Das, widow of Baburam.
The families were expecting an interest on the principal amount considering the delay. “The compensation has been delayed by over three years. Had we kept the money in an FD earlier, we would have earned interest,” said Kamil Navadiya, son of Bhupatbhai. The Navadiyas had received Rs 5 lakh compensation on July 16, 2011 and Rs 2 lakh on July 22, 2011.
The Das family has been surviving on the interest earned on the Rs 7 lakh payout. “Considering the delay, the government should have paid us interest for the delayed period. The interest earned on the FDs is our only source of income,” said Pranoti. Shailesh Gadhiya, son of blast victim, Himmatbhai, said his mother Savita is relieved that they don’t have to chase government officials any more. “Each time we went to inquire about the status of the compensation we were saddened by the memories of the serial blasts,” said Shailesh. The court had issued a contempt notice to the state chief secretary for failure to disburse compensation. The notice issued to the chief secretary is posted for hearing on October 6.
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