The two were among the many youngsters of Begusarai in Bihar who had come to Ludhiana in search of a better tomorrow. The bustling city had quite lived up to their hopes. Imtiaz Alam, who was jobless back home, was working at a hosiery unit that paid him Rs 2,000 a month, while Shehanshah, the sole earning member of his family, was making a decent sum as a tailor and had recently bought a cellphone.

“Our village has a tradition of sending people to Ludhiana. It’s a city that respects a good worker,” explained Shehanshah’s cousin Mohd Khurshid, distraught after the blast that has dealt a heavy blow to men from his village. While Shehanshah is dead, his cousin Imitiaz, also a tailor, has lost his right arm and the use of his left leg. Still in a state of shock after the amputation, Imtiaz hasn’t uttered a word after regaining consciousness. Doctors attending on him attribute it to weakness—Imtiaz has been given 20 units of blood and is likely to be given some more if his condition doesn’t improve. “He was all set to go home for Eid but cancelled his plans at the last moment,” says Khurshid.

The blast was a nightmare they had never imagined in Ludhiana. “I did see a body lying in the front row but never thought it was that of my younger brother Imtiaz Alam,” sobbed Mohammad Khaliq, who is now worried about his 14-year-old cousin Mehraj, still admitted at CMCH. “He’s suffered multiple fractures in his legs. Though the doctors have been able to avoid amputation as of now, God nows what lies in future.”

Mehraj had come to the city only two months ago and was still getting to learn the ropes of hosiery work. “I don’t know what I will tell his parents,” Khaliq says. But ask him if he plans to send him back and he shakes his head. “No, he is better off here.”