Mangaluru cooker bomb blast victim's house renovated

Mangaluru: The victim of the Mangaluru cooker bomb explosion has received relief from the Guru Beladingalu Foundation on the auspicious day of Ugadi. Purushotham Poojary, the auto rickshaw driver who suffered burns after the cooker bomb exploded has now been handed his renovated house.

The Mangaluru cooker bomb incident took place on 19 November, 2022 when the cooker bomber Mohammad Shariq was travelling with the cooker bomb in Purushotham's auto rickshaw. The cooker bomb exploded prematurely which caused injuries to both the occupants of the rickshaw.

Purushotham's fear following the bomb explosion incident was that he couldn't support his daughter's wedding which was scheduled for May this year. He was treated for his injuries in a hospital in Mangaluru from which, he recovered well.

In December 2022, the Guru Beladingalu Foundation President, Padmaraj R assured Purushotham that his house will be renovated by the Foundation. Purushotham was a rickshaw driver and worked on a daily basis to make ends meet. Following the cooker bomb incident, he was unable to support his family due to his injuries.

Upon initial survey conducted by Padmaraj assisted by an engineer, Purushotham's house was found not to be in good shape. Padmaraj then took up the initiative to renovate Purushotham's house so that he could lead a comfortable life after suffering injuries and trauma from the cooker bomb explosion.

The Guru Beladingalu Foundation handed over the renovated house to Purushotham on the auspicious day of Ugadi. The Foundation had spent Rs. 6 lakh on the renovation.

Speaking to members of the media, Purushotham said that he is facing a tough time paying off the hospital bills.

"The hospital bill came up to a total of about Rs. 8 lakh. Another Rs. 2 lakh bill is still outstanding. My daily medications costs a lot too.

The Government had assured financial relief but I still haven't received it," Purushotham lamented.

Earlier this month, BJP leaders handed over a new auto rickshaw to Purushotham Poojary along with a sum of Rs. 5 lakhs.