Pall Of Gloom Descends On Vijayawada With Death Of Seven From Two Families

VIJAYAWADA: A pall of gloom descended on Balaji Towers and Kotinagar here following the death of six residents in an accident near Srikalahasti early on Sunday.

Seven persons belonging to two families who were said to be close friends were on a pilgrimage in the SUV. Of them, only a 16-year-old boy survived the mishap.

The head of one family, T. Ramesh Babu, 52, drove the SUV that he had borrowed from his friend for the trip. Ramesh Bau was a moneylender from
Mopidevi who had settled in Vijayawada in recent years.

The family stayed at Balaji Towers on Garikapati Vari Street in Balajinagar.
Ramesh Babu's wife T. Rajya Lakshmi, 40, who died in the mishap, was a homemaker. Their son, Bharat. 16, survived the mishap with injuries.

Their eldest son, Revanth is doing his B.Tech and had skipped the tour due
to his exams.

The head of the second family, P. Narasimha Murthy, 47, of Gudivada, had a
battery business and was a resident of Kotinagar Colony here. His wife P. Venkata Ramanamma, 44, was a homemaker. Their daughter Akshaya was studying her second year Intermediate. All of them perished.

These two families were said to be close for several years. The two families
started on a pilgrimage to Tirumala and Srikalahasti on Friday night.

Neighbours said Ramesh Babu had been to Arunachalam a week ago with his
friends.

As per family sources, the two families reached Tirumala on Saturday and visited the temples in Tirupati.

Saturday was Akshaya's birthday and both families celebrated it, offering pujas in temples in Tirupati.

They stayed at a lodge at overnight and went to the Tirumala hill on Sunday
morning. Later, they left for Srikalahasti.

Ramesh Babu was driving the car. When it reached close to the Srikalahasti entrance, the car hit a lorry coming from the opposite side. Survivor Bharat was hospitalised with a broken leg.

Some of their neighbours rushed to Srikalahasti to bring back the bodies.