Cough Syrup, Then More Sickness And Death: Shell-Shocked Families Try To Cope

For the families of the children who died in Chhindwara, compensation means little. What is Rs 4 lakh when your child is gone? What is government aid when you've already sold your home, your jewellery, and your dreams to keep a heartbeat going?

After days of denial, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav has announced Rs 4 lakh compensation for each of the 11 children who died after consuming Coldrif Cough Syrup. 

The government will also bear the full cost of treatment for those still fighting for their lives in hospitals.

But for the parents in Parasia, the wounds are beyond repair. Many have lost not just their children but everything they owned trying to save them.

He Sold His Auto to Save His Child

Yasin Khan, a 30-year-old auto driver from Parasia, has not slept for several nights. His three-year-old son, Usaid, was his world. On August 31, Usaid developed a mild fever and cough. The family took him to Dr. Aman Siddiqui, he prescribed Coldrif Syrup. 

"After the first few doses, my son started vomiting," Yasin recalled. "His eyes swelled up, his urine stopped, and he began crying in pain. We rushed him to Chhindwara, then to Nagpur. Doctors there said his kidneys were failing."

Usaid was put on dialysis. His father sold his only means of livelihood -- his auto-rickshaw -- to pay the hospital bills. The family spent over Rs 4 lakh in a desperate attempt to save him. "I thought if I could save him, I could buy another auto some day," Yasin said softly. "But now there's no child, no work, and no hope".

As if the cruelty of fate wasn't enough, while Usaid was being treated in Nagpur, their home's roof collapsed in the rain. Neighbours covered it with plastic sheets. When the couple returned with their son's body, water was seeping into every corner of the house. 

"We came home with his body," his mother said, her voice breaking. "Everything was gone the roof, the money, and our son."

He Mortgaged His Land, and Still Lost His Child

Prakash Yaduvanshi sits in a dimly lit two-room house in Parasia, staring at a framed photograph of his son Devansh, aged seven.

He spent Rs 7 lakh on Devansh's treatment -- money he didn't have. He mortgaged his small farm, pawned his wife's jewellery, and borrowed from everyone he knew. 

"I'm a paralytic patient," he said, holding up his trembling right hand. "My wife has two operations pending. We were already struggling. When my son fell sick, I thought it was just a cold. But the doctor gave him the syrup, and his condition got worse and worse," he said.

For 15 days, Devansh could neither eat nor drink. His body began to swell, his kidneys failed, and dialysis became his only chance.

The mother remembered every moment. 

"The first dialysis lasted one-and-a-half hours. The next day, three hours. Then five. But he was slipping away from us. On the last day, the doctor said we have done all we could," she said.

The family has nothing left now. Prakash said they will go to the High Court. 

For Kabir, The Diagnosis Came Too Late

In Betul district's Amla block, 4-year-old Kabir died on September 8. His father Kamlesh, a small farmer from Kalmeshwar, had taken him to Dr Praveen Soni in Parasia after the child developed a mild cough.
Dr Soni prescribed Coldrif Syrup. When Kabir's condition worsened, Kamlesh returned to the doctor, who referred him elsewhere. By the time another hospital diagnosed kidney failure, it was too late.

Kabir was taken to Nagpur, then to Bhopal. He died during treatment. 

"I mortgaged my land for Rs 2.5 lakh," Kamlesh told NDTV. "I thought money could save him. But money ran out before his breath did," he added.

In Parasia's narrow lanes, grief hangs heavy. Fathers sit in silence, mothers clutch clothes that still smell of their children.

"We don't want money," said Usaid's mother, tears streaking her face. "We want justice for every child who took that poison thinking it was medicine," she added.
 

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