Hyderabad: Sorrow gripped Kartikeya Nagar in Nacharam on Tuesday as news of two neighbours dying — while on their way from Prayagraj — reached their homes. The third escaped with injuries and is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
One of the two deceased, Malla Reddy, was also the Kartikeya Nagar colony president and was popular as ‘Pala Malla Reddy’ in the area since he sold milk to locals. He has been holding that post for the last 20 years, recalled residents crowding the road outside the building where his family lives. His son was inconsolable.
Right next to Malla Reddy’s home is the apartment complex that houses the family of Santosh Chary who also died on Tuesday. Injured Bala Krishna’s residence is only a stone’s throw away from there.
“When we initially heard the news on television channels, we did not believe it. Later, we saw people starting to gather in large numbers at the residence of Malla Reddy and Santosh, that’s when it hit us,” a resident told TOI.
Another local and friend of Malla Reddy, M Prakash, recalled how the former was excited about the trip. “A few days before leaving he called to say that he along with some colony members was going to the Mahakumbh mela on Saturday (Feb 8). He said he’d be back in a few days. Little did I know that was the last I’d hear of him,” said Prakash.
The others from the nine-member group, locals said, were from Dilsukhnagar, Saroornagar, and Tarnaka.
Several days before the trip, the group had contacted Raju, a resident of Errakunta who operated a minibus. They hired the 12-seater bus from him but removed four seats to create more space to put mattresses so that the passengers could sleep.
In a grim reminder of the ill-fated journey, the four extra seats were found stacked in a parking space at Malla Reddy’s residence on Tuesday.
One of the two deceased, Malla Reddy, was also the Kartikeya Nagar colony president and was popular as ‘Pala Malla Reddy’ in the area since he sold milk to locals. He has been holding that post for the last 20 years, recalled residents crowding the road outside the building where his family lives. His son was inconsolable.
Right next to Malla Reddy’s home is the apartment complex that houses the family of Santosh Chary who also died on Tuesday. Injured Bala Krishna’s residence is only a stone’s throw away from there.
“When we initially heard the news on television channels, we did not believe it. Later, we saw people starting to gather in large numbers at the residence of Malla Reddy and Santosh, that’s when it hit us,” a resident told TOI.
Another local and friend of Malla Reddy, M Prakash, recalled how the former was excited about the trip. “A few days before leaving he called to say that he along with some colony members was going to the Mahakumbh mela on Saturday (Feb 8). He said he’d be back in a few days. Little did I know that was the last I’d hear of him,” said Prakash.
The others from the nine-member group, locals said, were from Dilsukhnagar, Saroornagar, and Tarnaka.
Several days before the trip, the group had contacted Raju, a resident of Errakunta who operated a minibus. They hired the 12-seater bus from him but removed four seats to create more space to put mattresses so that the passengers could sleep.
In a grim reminder of the ill-fated journey, the four extra seats were found stacked in a parking space at Malla Reddy’s residence on Tuesday.
