Hyderabad: Like every day, Tirupathi Rao spoke to his daughters in their native village in Srikakulam district before heading to work at a construction site in Hyderabad. He asked them about school and reminded them to study well. It was a routine call he rarely missed.
By afternoon, the bamboo scaffolding at an under-construction building in Tolichowki collapsed. Tirupathi Rao and Adi Narayana, both migrant workers from Srikakulam, died in the accident, leaving their families devastated.
For nearly a decade, the duo lived in Hyderabad with their wives, working as daily wage construction labourers. Financial hardships following the death of elders in their families forced them to leave their villages in Kothuru and Veerapadu in search of work. Over the years, they built a life in the city centred around long workdays, modest earnings, and frequent phone calls to their children back home.
Tirupathi Rao is survived by his wife, Rajani, and two daughters, Kavya (13) and Lasya (11), who are studying in their native village. Adi Narayana is survived by his wife, Anita, and two sons, Abhi (18), who is pursuing a degree in Srikakulam, and Nani (16), who lives with his parents in Hyderabad while preparing for his class 10 examinations.
The families say the men last visited their native villages a few months ago during a festival. Like many migrant workers, they could only afford short visits before returning to the city to resume work. The tragedy shook the close-knit community of migrant workers from Srikakulam who had lived in the same neighbourhood in Gudimalkapur for several years.
Among them is R Ramesh (29), another construction labourer from the same district who was injured in the accident and remains in the ICU. His wife, Arosha, said many of them migrated together years ago and have since worked at construction sites across the city.
"We all came here around the same time for work and have been living in the same area for years," Arosha told TOI. "My husband's condition is not good. He is in the ICU, and we are very worried." The couple has two children, a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, who study in UKG and LKG respectively, at a private school near their home in Gudimalkapur. "My children keep asking when their father will come home," she said.
Another injured worker, M Ramesh (34), who hails from Odisha but has also been part of the same labour community for years, said the accident left many workers shaken. "My condition is also not good. I am still undergoing treatment," he said. "We all know each other here and work together at construction sites."
For Lal Ahmed (50), an auto driver who was injured when debris fell on his parked vehicle, survival came with another worry: his livelihood. His brother, Kasim, said the auto-rickshaw, which Ahmed parked under the building while waiting for passengers, was completely damaged in the collapse. "That auto is the only source of income for his family. It will cost at least Rs 25,000 to repair it," Kasim said.
Ahmed, who supports four children aged between 8 and 13, had parked the vehicle under the shade of the building when the debris fell on it.
For the migrant workers living in Gudimalkapur, the accident left behind more than grief. It disrupted a fragile life built over years, a life where daily wages pay for children's education, phone calls bridge the distance between parents and villages, and every day of work is essential to keep families afloat.