More than a day after his son Anshuman Pratihar was reported dead in Sunday’s accident at the Metro constriction site, his family is still waiting for an official word — either from the government or Gammon India, the company constructing the Metro stretch.

Pratihar, 24, the site engineer, was among six persons who died in the accident.

Back in Sukhjora village in West Bengal’s Bankura district, his father Shankar Pratihar was fuming on Monday. “No one from the government or the company has come to us, or even called us to inform about the mishap,” he said. “We got to know about Anshuman’s death after his friends rang up yesterday.

“Isn’t it the responsibility of the government and Gammon India to at least inform us about our son’s death?”

Anshuman’s mother Pratima Pratihar is still to come to terms with the tragedy. “My son is not dead,” she said. “Like every day, I spoke with him on Saturday as well — he had called up from the site and said he was doing fine. I told him to eat on time and take care of himself.”

A slight pause later, she added, still using present tense for Anshuman: “He is a nice boy and calls me every day. We are even looking for a bride for him.”

A role model for the whole village, Anshuman was among the first in the area to become an engineer when he passed out of Bishnupur Engineering College two years ago. He had recently joined Gammon India. The family is now preparing to send two relatives to Delhi to bring back the body.

... contd.