For 45-year-old Radha, a conductor who was in the bus that collided with a truck on Mirjaguda road, the Tandur-Hyderabad route was nothing new. Since 2010, she has stuck to the same rhythm – rising before dawn, cooking for her husband and two children, and leaving for her shift at 4.40am. Monday was to be no different, they had two consecutive offs ahead of them.
She packed lunch for herself and her niece Shravani at Langar Houz at 4 am, which she did every week. Her son dropped her at Tandur bus depot and when she realized she had forgotten her coat, he rushed home to fetch it. Wearing a pink suit and khaki coat, Radha boarded the ill-fated bus.
“After the tickets were issued, I was sitting on the left side when I saw a truck coming towards us,” recalled Radha, who is now recovering at Dr. Patnam Mahender Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences (PMRIMS). “The driver turned left but before we knew what was happening there was gravel everywhere.
She suffered a 10-centimeter-deep gash in the center of her forehead, where gravel and concrete were stuck as a result of the impact. She needed surgery and eight stitches.
45-year-old Radha, conductor of the ill-fated bus that collided with a truck in a Chevelle while undergoing treatment at Dr. General Hospital on Monday. Mahender Reddy’s Patnam in Chevelle, Ranga Reddy District. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Her niece Shravani had been waiting outside the operating room for hours, clutching the box of food that Radha had prepared in the morning. “Every Monday she brings me what she calls ‘special food’, it’s our tradition. Today it was jowar roti and sabzi, which we don’t often find in the city,” Shravani held back tears.
At the Tandur bus depot that morning, Mrs. Radha’s 19-year-old son watched her leave, not knowing what was in store for them in the morning. “I always drop my mom off at the college,” he said. “She asked me to get her coat. I just want her to get better.”
For two hours on the same journey, Ashok Hanumanthu watched his world crumble. He and his 44-year-old father, Magalla Hanumanthu, farmers from Nitoor village, were on their way to Hyderabad to see a doctor for his father’s earache. “When the crash happened, my father pushed me out,” Ashok said, his voice choking. “Before I could go back for him, he was covered in gravel.
Family members of Hanumanthu at Chevella Community Health Center (CHC) who died in a road accident on Mirjaguda–Khanapur road near Chevella. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Among the survivors was 24-year-old R. Nandhini, a B. Pharmacy student from Vikarabad on an internship in Miyapur. She was the only one taken to KIMS Hospital, Minister Road, for advanced treatment. “I don’t remember much,” she said from her hospital bed. “I remember there was a collision and a massive blow when I was next in hospital.
On Monday, one of the injured received medical care at Dr. General Hospital. Mahender Reddy’s Patnama at Chevelle in Ranga Reddy District. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Her aunt, who was sitting next to her, said Nandhini was rescued from under the gravel that reached her neck, with two bodies on either side.
Another survivor, 38-year-old Abdul Razak of Hassan Nagar in Shivarampally, a frequent traveler on the route, boarded the bus at Vikarabad at 6.30 am. “The bus was overcrowded. I was standing when it happened,” he said. “Gravel was pouring in – up to my thighs. I was stuck for almost an hour before they pulled me out with an earthmoving machine.”
On Monday, one of the injured received medical care at Dr. General Hospital. Mahender Reddy’s Patnama at Chevelle in Ranga Reddy District. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
He added: “The driver was going fast. Both the lorry and the bus were going fast. It was morning, everyone was in a hurry then.”
The accident tore families apart in seconds.
Three sisters, E. Nandhini, 22, E. Tanusha, 20, and E. Sai Priya, 18, daughters of Yellaiah Goud of Gandhinagar, Vikarabad, were killed together. They returned home to celebrate their elder sister’s wedding and were heading back to Hyderabad to continue their college life. Their father dropped them off at Tandur bus depot that morning, not knowing that it was their last meeting.
E. About, 22, E. Unabler, 20, 20, 18, 18, 18, the 18th chart Gandhannah, Vikarabi in the Holy. | Photo credit: Buy Arrantort
“They were so happy,” a relative said outside the hospital, holding back tears. “They just danced at their sister’s wedding.
Andds friends replied E. Nadhanni, E. Sai Priya, fat Gandhigar Gandhigar, Vikarabbi who goes to accdentt. | Photo credit: CHAW
In another family, two young daughters were left orphaned. Kudugunta Bandeppa, 42 and his wife Lakshmi, 40, of Hajipur village, Vikarabad, were among those who died in the accident. Outside the mortuary of the government hospital in Chevelle, their daughters Bhavani (9) and Shivalila (17) screamed for their parents. “Bring mother back, I want her,” wailed one of them, her voice breaking the silence that hung over the crowd.
Published – 03 Nov 2025 21:28 IST
