JOIN USTragedy struck a family in Bangalore that was preparing for a wedding as the bride’s mother and uncle were among the passengers who were charred to death after the Hyderabad-bound bus caught fire early Wednesday.
Venkatesh Babu, 50 and his cousin Anita Kumar, 42 were on their way to Hyderabad to invite Telugu super star and Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi to the wedding.
Babu, who runs a small travel agency in Majestic area was an ardent fan and president of Akhila Karnataka Annayya Chiranjeevi Fans’ Welfare Association for the past many years. Chiranjeevi had graced Babu’s family functions in the past. Anita, lived with her family in Banasawadi. Her daughter Anusha was to get married on November 15. Babu was taking her to Hyderabad to invite Chiranjeevi for the wedding.
The family members were heart broken and inconsolable when Deccan Herald visited their family home in the old fort area of Kalasipalya.
Sunder Raj, the octogenarian father of Babu said that the two were to actually scheduled to go to Hyderabad on Monday night. “But, they postponed it to Tuesday night because of heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh. They never returned.” Babu is survived by his wife Shanthi and three children. Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law and film producer Allu Arvind visited the family in Bangalore and expressed his condolences.
Colleagues among victims
It was the final journey for sub-contractors working with an engineering works firm in Bangalore. Of the five colleagues who were travelling by the ill-fated bus, four were burnt alive while the other was lucky to escape with minor injuries.
Sambashiva, an employee of Spectra Fab Engineers, said the company had got a new project in Hyderabad.
It had sub-contracted the glass work to K S Nanjunde Gowda, 29. Gowda left for Hyderabad with four of his employees, all labourers hailing from Uttar Pradesh, to take the measurement of the glass fittings for the building project.
Four labourers Jai Singh, 23, Sonu Kumar, 22, Ajay Kumar, 21, Vijay Kumar, 25 accompanied Gowda. Sambashiva said Jai Singh managed to break open the glass and escape from the burning bus.
Gowda hailed from Tungavvanahalli, Mulbagal taluk in Kolar, and had married Rajani only three years ago. The couple has a two-year-old son Likhith.
Farmer from Kanakapura
A farmer from Kanakapura was on his way to Hyderabad to see his newborn daughter. However, he could never see his bundle of joy. Chandrashekar, 41, a resident of Maralawadi village, Kanakapura was a silk farmer. He was married to Swathi, who hailed from Hyderabad.
Two brothers from Bangalore who were on their way to Hyderabad on a business trip are also among the dead.
Asif Ahmed, 26 and his elder brother Shouqib Ahmed, 28 ran an automobile spare parts shop in BTM Layout. They were residents of Guruppanapalya, BTM I Stage.
Family wiped out
A couple from Bangalore and their five-year-old physically-challenged daughter are among the dead.
Azmatullah, 35, his wife Zabina Taj, 25 and their daughter Usma Sultan, 5 were killed in the accident. Azmatullah, a resident of Hosagudadahalli, and his brother had the sub-contract for managing the parking lots at railway stations in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The family left for Hyderabad as Zabina's mother was unwell.