HYDERABAD: The 11 deceased migrant labourers, who had moved from Bihar, were the sole breadwinners in their family. As family members couldn’t travel to the city to identify their charred remains, dozens of migrants, who the victims had become close to, turned up at the mortuary and helped with the identification process.
Among the deceased, Chintu Kumar, 27, Rajesh Kumar, 25, and Damodar Mahaldar, 27, are from the same family. While Sintu and Rajesh are brothers, Damodar is their cousin. All the three are married. While Sintu and Rajesh have one and two children respectively, Damodar’s wife is pregnant with their first child. Similarly, Sikinder also lost his father and has been taking care of his elderly mother. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Speaking to Express, Ajay Mahaldar, an acquaintance of Damodar, said, “The meagre earnings in Bihar made us struggle for food. Migration helped us and eventually enabled us to feed our families. It was Chintu, Rajesh and Damodar who first moved to the city for money in 2017 and started working at the scrapyard. Seeing their families settling down with basic amenities, I took Damodar’s help and moved here five months ago. He was helping me out in the city too and I reside in Chandanagar with my wife and four-year-old son.”While no family members of the deceased are present in the city, a large number of migrant workers from Bihar working in Ghatkesar, Chandanagar and Balapur assembled at the Gandhi Hospital.
Pall of gloom descends
As the news of their death reached their villagers, a pall of gloom descended. Daroga Kumar Ram, the sole earner in his family, lost his father a long ago and was taking care of his elderly mother. He also has a wife and three children. He started working at the unit in 2020
Gas explosion caused fire at godown?
Police along with officials from the Fire and Electricity Departments are probing into the fire. After a preliminary investigation, officials said the chances of an electrical short circuit was low and pointed out that a gas explosion could have triggered the fire and blew off a portion of the tin roof. As there are LPG cylinders in the godown, careless smoking could have also led to the fire, officials pointed out. The collected samples will be sent for forensic examination
‘Act against those violating safety rules’
Special GHMC teams and fire officials will survey the entire city to find out the number of commercial establishments and godowns which don’t have fire NOCs and are vulnerable to fire hazards, said Home Minister Mahmood Ali. At a meeting to review fire safety in city buildings, the Minister said stringent action will be taken against violators. He added that firm owners should offer a decent sleeping space and a separate area for cooking and other chores to the workers