Neha’s life took an ugly turn on November 28, 2011 when acid was thrown on her near Sector-28 traffic lights. Two years down the lane, she is fighting for sustenance and struggling for a decent life style.
In her struggle Neha is alone, she was just 19 when the incident took place and now she is left with a scar for lifetime and a life that she has to spend with this. But help is nowhere to be seen.
Neha is now 21 years old and under treatment. The bill of her treatment runs into lakhs of rupees which has become a burden for this young girl. Her father is a fruit vendor and mother a house-wife and hence, it is equally burdening for the parents to continue Neha’s treatment.
The incident took place when Neha was returning home with one of her colleagues after finishing her work at the Westside mall in Industrial area Phase-1, when another colleague from her workplace threw acid on her. Currently the accused is in Jail but it is not enough to comfort Neha’s ailing life.
“I have undergone seven operations at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research but the treatment is far from finished. According to my doctor, I have to undergo seven more sittings just to get my right ear fixed which was completely burned after the attack,” said Neha.
She received 20 percent burn in the attack and her wounds are grievous and the scar will take a long time to heal says the doctors treating on Neha from the plastic surgery department of PGI.
I have lost my lips, my neck and the right side of my face is completely damaged which needs to be fixed through laser treatment. I have to go through multiple sittings to get them fixed and the cost of one sitting is around 40, 000,” added Neha with tears in her eyes.
Besides loosing her face and getting scarred for lifetime, Neha is alone without any job and all her attempts to get some help have been dampened over the period of time. She belongs to a poor family. They stay in a rented accommodation and it is hard for them to meet their daily needs and on top of that Neha’s treatment has left them in an awkward situation.
Neha has reached out for help to everyone including the State Government and former Congress MP Pawan Kumar Bansal but to no avail. She says that everyone talks high about helping needy people but those are all blatant promises made by them to gain popularity.
Before this ill-fated incident Neha used to earn Rs 7, 000 per month and pursued an undergraduate course from Panjab University’s distance learning program. But the attack crippled her and she lost her job.
But this brave heart has not lost hope. She has completed her graduation and currently pursuing a course in Multimedia. But all she wants is a little support from the society to help her in her struggle to return her life back to normalcy.
The Supreme Court judgement earlier this week banning the sale of acid has come a bit late for Neha as she is faced an attack much before the judgement.