Horror Friday for former Delhi sprinter Sangeeta, tree falls on her house

New Delhi: Former Delhi sprinter Sangeeta Kumar's worst fears came true on a stormy Friday morning when a huge tree fell on her house in Shahpur Jat, forcing her family on the road, begging and crying for help to save the two-storey home. For a moment, Sangeeta, who won the 100m event at the junior state championship in 1997 and 1999, thought her husband had got buried when she heard the thud of the falling tree. Her husband had just stepped out to see if everything was in place after Delhi woke up to early morning thunderstorm. Sangeeta rushed out of the house with her two kids and found her visibly-shaken husband Krishan Kumar sitting with his hands on his head after dodging the falling tree. "He was shocked. He thought we had been hit by the tree and we thought that the tree has fallen on him. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But it seems my house has been severely damaged," Sangeeta told media. "I had been fearing this scenario. This tree is planted inside the government school in front of our house. Termites had badly damaged the tree and it was tilting towards our house. I had given an application for its removal but the school principal said they won't touch a leaf. "I think the house won't survive," the 42-year-old Sangeeta, who also claims to have competed alongside the legendary PT Usha in a relay event in her junior days, fears.

The eight hours following the incident were no less than a nightmare for Sangeeta and her family as the BSES officials visited the site around 1:00pm. "We approached a lot of people, including the local BJP MLA Shikha Rai but she said it's not her job to remove the tree. We somehow disconnected the power supply of the house. "Ours is a joint family. Around 16-17 people live in this house. We were all on road, not sure what to do, how to respond to the situation. People gathered around in some time but no one knew what to do," Sangeeta said, crying. "My kids have not eaten anything, none of us actually have, since morning." She had no option but to call family friends and the media for help. The family heaved a sigh of relief when former AAP MLA from the area Sourabh Bhardwaj responded to the SOS call and sent a few people to her house. "They came around 1:00pm and a few friends helped in getting BSES officials to our house. They are trying to fix it and also remove the fallen tree. I do not know how much damage the house has suffered," she said..It has been a life of struggle for Sangeeta, whose parents did not support her sports dream. "I was on my own since my childhood. My parents were not in favour of me becoming an athlete. They kept saying 'nikkar pehan ke bhaagti rehti hai'' (She keeps running in shorts). I used to to get scholarship from the Patiala centre, that's how I survived," she said.

Sangeeta now wants her kids to become successful sportspersons. Her daughter Megha, 17, is also a 100m runner trying to break into the state team, while 11-year-old Jityensh is a budding cricketer. While she wants to give wings to her kids' dream, the priority now will be to repair the damaged house. "I do not know how will I manage. Looks like the house won't survive," she said, fear very much palpable in her voice.