Katni/Dewas, Sep 7 (PTI) When young Madhya Pradesh student Akshat Yadav left for New Delhi with the aim of becoming an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, his family did not know that one day his dream would forever get buried under the debris of a building.
Yadav, a resident of Katni district, was among the seven people who died when a building, a five-storey PG accommodation, collapsed in the Satya Niketan area of southwest Delhi on Sunday. The 19-year-old Delhi University student had moved to the national capital with the hope of joining the elite IAS one day.
Besides the teenager, another Madhya Pradesh resident, Arpit Jaj (21), a native of Dewas town who was studying in Delhi, also perished in the collapse, leaving his family devastated.
A resident of Dubey Colony in the Tulsi Nagar area of Katni, Yadav came home for Rakshabandhan (celebrated on August 28). After celebrating the festival, during which his younger sister tied a rakhi to him, Yadav returned to Delhi two days later to pursue his dream.
Neighbours said on receiving information about Yadav’s tragic death, his grieving parents, younger sister, and other family members arrived in Delhi on Monday and, after identifying the body, took it in an ambulance and left for Katni by road.
Krishna Rajak, a childhood friend and classmate of the deceased teenager from nursery to 12th grade, told PTI Videos that Yadav had passed the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) last year and was living in the national capital to pursue a BCom degree from the Delhi University.
“Akshat was very good in studies. He wanted to prepare for the IAS. Whenever we talked, he always talked about his preparations (for civil services exam),” he stated.
Rajak said Yadav visited Katni for Rakshabandhan, but he was unable to meet him, something he will now rue for rest of his life.
He said, “Ever since the tragic news came in, Akshat’s parents have been inconsolable. The condition of his younger sister is the worst.” The Delhi building where Yadav was living as a tenant collapsed during renovation work at around 1:30 pm on Sunday. It housed a paying guest (PG) accommodation for boys.
As soon as news of the building collapse spread, a crowd of anxious locals and neighbours gathered at Yadav’s residence in Katni after coming to know he was one of the residents of the ill-fated structure.
Sandeep Tripathi, a neighbour, said Yadav’s father was away in Rajasthan at the time and he immediately left for Delhi with some relatives. A local councillor and some close family members took the teenager’s mother and sister to the national capital.
He said the teenager’s father works in the building construction sector, while his mother is a homemaker.
Dewas resident Jaj had just returned to Delhi after celebrating Rakshabandhan with his family when the tragedy struck.
Jaj, a second-year BCom student at a Delhi college, had reached the national capital on Sunday, the day of the collapse. His family lost contact with him just hours after his arrival, and his death was confirmed on Monday.
Dewas Collector Rituraj Singh told reporters that after receiving information about Jaj’s death, the district administration coordinated with its Delhi counterpart and facilitated the transportation of his body to the Madhya Pradesh town in an ambulance.
According to his family, Jaj had completed his schooling up to Class 12 in Dewas and was pursuing BCom in Delhi.
Vijay Sharma, a family acquaintance, said Jaj had come home to Dewas for Rakshabandhan and spent time with the family until late on Janmashtami (September 4).
“My two children, Jaj and his sister made several reels together. We were together till late on Janmashtami,” Sharma said.
Jaj had a reserved train ticket for his return journey and left Dewas on Saturday, reaching Delhi on Sunday morning, he said.
After reaching the national capital, Jaj spoke to his parents over the phone and told them he would rest for some time to recover from the journey’s fatigue.
“About one-and-a-half hours later, the accident happened and we could not contact him again,” Sharma said.
After learning about the building collapse, Jaj’s parents travelled to Delhi and searched for him at different locations, Sharma said.
His death was confirmed on Monday after his body was found, he said, adding the grief-stricken family was now mourning the loss of the young student. PTI COR MAS HWP LAL RSY
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