Stone-filled balloon injures woman commuter

MID-DAY (March 2002)

By Skimmy Gupta

Holi turned disastrous for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation employee Shalini Karandikar (46) when she was hit in the eyes by a stone-filled balloon hurled at an Andheri local on Thursday evening.

Karandikar has sustained serious injuries to her left eye and may never be able to see again from it. Vision in her right eye may also be hampered, largely due to damage done to the retina, said Dr Manish Dave, eye consultant at Arogya Nidhi Hospital, Juhu.

Karandikar, a superintendent at the BMC's Ghatkopar office for the past 24 years, boarded a train to Andheri from Dadar on Thursday evening.

At her residence at Shree Sanman Society, Versova Link Road, Andheri (West), she recalled the incident while still in obvious pain. "Since the train was crowded, I was standing on the footboard close to the door. After the train crossed Vile Parle, about 6.15 pm, another local began running past in the opposite direction on the other track. We were only a minute away from reaching Andheri station. Before I knew it, a balloon hurled by someone in the other local hit me hard in the eyes. I felt like a knife had been pierced into my eyes. I collapsed and don't remember what happened after that," she said.

Shalini's husband Prabodh (52), awaiting her return on the balcony of their Versova flat, was in for a shock when he saw his wife emerging from an autorickshaw at 6.45 pm, her face covered in blood. "As the person who escorted Shalini told me, it was lucky she didn't fall off the train when the balloon struck," Prabodh said.

Shalini was rushed to Arogya Nidhi Hospital, where she was examined by Dr Dave. "She was in bad shape, with both eyes badly swollen. The right eyeball had been lacerated and the pupil was reacting actively to injury. She had little vision in that eye. In her left eye she had no vision; it was filled with blood.

It's possible the balloon was filled with small sharp stones, because she also suffered minor cuts on the nose. When she came in, her nose was bleeding too, and she vomited continuously. Stitches were applied to the right eye immediately, but due to the severe nature of the injury, no operation was possible at that time," the doctor said.

Shalini was then sent home and asked to return yesterday morning for treatment.

Prabodh said, "Even yesterday, when I took her to hospital a second time, we had a lot of balloons hurled at our auto. I somehow defended us by placing towels on both sides of the auto."

Having examined her a second time, Dave concluded her case is serious. "Vision in her right eye is currently 30 per cent and left eye just 5 per cent. She may not be able to see from the left eye ever again.

"There is so much swelling, the eyeball is still full of blood and the pupil dilated. If the swelling in her right eye persists, it might make a hole in the retina. Even if she retains vision in her right eye, it would be badly affected," the doctor said.

Shalini can be operated upon only after the swelling in the eyes subsides, Dave noted. A retina operation would cost anywhere between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh. Though the couple is not cash-strapped, the amount would certainly set them back a bit, especially since Shalini is at present the only breadwinner.

Prabodh retired as senior manager of a bank a few years ago due to a slipped disc problem.

"We never step out of our home on Rang Panchami (the second day of Holi), but this year, even before Rang Panchami my wife fell victim to the mischief of cruel people. This might turn out to be, for us, the tragedy of a lifetime," Prabodh said, adding that he would soon lodge a complaint with the railway police.

"These balloon-throwing incidents have been occurring for many years, yet the authorities have been turning a blind eye. It is high time the nuisance is curbed," he ended angrily.