DHARWAD: For the Hiremaths of Nehru Nagar, good days had just begun after the family purchased a shop and started paint business in January.
Their shop was located on the first floor of the ill-fated building complex, which collapsed in Dharwad on Tuesday.
Today, the family is in grief after it lost two members – Malleswarayya Hiremath (62) and his son Asit Hiremath (27) – in the tragedy.
While the latter’s body was traced early on Wednesday, family members were completely shattered later in the day after their senior-most member was found dead under the debris.
Malleswarayya and his only son Asit, were the only breadwinners of the family. Jyoti Hiremath, wife of Asit – who is in her sixth month of pregnancy – had a sleepless night at the district hospital on Tuesday. She rushed at every ambulance to check its occupants.
The family was inconsolable after learning that they had lost two members.
A relative said the father and son would come home for lunch around 2.30 pm each day.
“In an exception to that routine, they stayed at the shop till 3.30 pm on Tuesday. The tragedy struck when they were about to start for lunch. The family is devastated and we are unable to console the mother and wife of Asit,” he said.
Mallaya Hiremath, brother of Jyoti, said the couple was married in Dharwad in November 2018.
“The family recently invested Rs 20 lakh in their hardware and paint shop. Now there is nothing left. My sister is pregnant and she is unable to bear the pain of two deaths in the family. The family was planning a trip to Dharmastala next month,” he said.