Sweety Kumari is a final-year engineering student and an athlete.
The family of Sweety Kumari, a college student who was hit by a car in Greater Noida on December 31, remains in the intensive care unit of a local hospital after severe brain injury, and her family is now struggling to meet the expenses that run into lakhs already.
Her parents, who work as labourers, reached here from Bihar the day after the accident. Her brother and friends are leading crowdfunding efforts on social media and have also raised money from fellow students at GNOIT College, where she is a final-year BTech student.
So far, the family has spent Rs 8 lakh on ongoing treatment, of which Rs 4.5 lakh has come through donations, said her parents and friends.
“We cannot even imagine how we will arrange so much money,” said her father, Shivnandan Pal, “It's almost Rs 2 lakh per day. Mother Lalmani Devi added, “Her friends are helping. We need help as the treatment will take long,” the mother.
Sweety Kumari's parents at the hospital.
She is stable after the brain surgery, but will need a surgery for leg fractures too, said doctors. Both her legs have multiple fractures, besides the head injury.
“We have weaned her off the ventilator (life support) and she is able to open her eyes. But she is not yet able to speak or recognise anyone,” said a doctor treating her at Kailash Hospital.
While her brother Sumit Kumar is using Twitter and Instagram to seek donations, a friend leading the crowdfunding at the hospital told NDTV, “We got her treatment started by collecting money from students; they gave Rs 500 or 1,000 or so each — as much as they could afford from their pocket money.” The college has given Rs 1 lakh, he said.
There is no estimate yet of how much will be needed. “It will take months for her to be fine. But we know that the family cannot afford it; that's why we are seeking help,” said another college-mate.
They said she had already appeared for some job interviews in the college placement drive and the exams begin this week too.
“She is also an athlete. We wish she's able to smile, run, live her life again,” said a friend.
Two of Sweety Kumari's friends suffered minor injuries after the car hit them when they were walking on the roadside around 9 pm on December 31.
Police have been unable to track down the Hyundai Santro or the men who were in it. Three teams have been deployed to trace the accused, and officer has said.
The incident took place the same night that a 20-year-old woman named Anjali Singh in nearby Delhi was killed in the early hours of New Year after her scooter was hit by a car and she was dragged for several kilometres under the vehicle.