It was a sight of loud bereavement in four villages. Tents before the houses bespoke of the loss of a dear member. At road corners, tea shops and under trees, villagers were discussing the fate of families who lost their bread earners in the January 6 road accident in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu.
The four villages — Reddypally, Mantoor, Khajipet, and Chinnachintakunta — are located close to each other in Narsapur mandal.
The 10 dead — all Ayyappa devotees — were returning after completing their pilgrimage to Sabarimala when a heavy vehicle collided head-on with the van they were travelling in. Five were injured.
At the houses of the deceased, large number of people gathered trying to console family members. At Khajipet village, K. Rama Goud collapsed after weeping for several hours for the body of his son, Nagaraju Goud, who was killed in the accident. He was shifted to hospital for treatment.
K. Naresh, Nagaraju’s brother arrived home in the wee hours of Tuesday. He was also injured in the accident but was flown back with a team lead by TRS district unit president B. Murali Yadav.
Few hundred metres away from the house of Nagaraju, the houses of Boina Kumar Yadav and Jurru Mahesh Yadav presented a similar scene. “This family is lucky to some extent. While Nagaraju died in the accident, the second son survived with injuries,” said Malla Goud, a relative.
The case of Jurru Mahesh’s family is quite pathetic. “He was married about seven months ago. No one knows what his wife’s fate will be,” commented a villager.
“A. Kishta Goud, one of the two victims from Reddypally, had a-four-year-old daughter and six-month-old son. He was working in a private firm. Many of the deceased are from poor families. This accident shattered their dreams and turned life upside down,” rued Anjaneyulu Goud, a resident of Reddypally.
In a related development, those undergoing treatment at Pudukottai Government Hospital have urged authorities in a video message to shift them to Hyderabad stating they are not getting proper treatment.
