Hyderabad: Goka Mallesham (22) from Karimnagar, who traveled to Dubai to work as a painter at a car washing company, wanted to clear his family debts and get his sister married into a good family.
With his sudden death in February due to cardiac arrest, the family lost their only hope. “Till January, he regularly sent money home to clear debts slowly, and he had big plans for his sister’s marriage as he was the only son,” said his cousin Mahipal.
Siddirama Goud traveled to Kuwait to work as a labourer in a construction company so that he could provide better education for his two sons back home. But after he committed suicide in 2015, the educational prospects of his sons became bleak.
Mallesham and Siddirama Goud both had insurance under the PBBY scheme, but their families did not get any benefits as their deaths were not due to accidents.
Mallesham (22), a native of Aravelly village in Pegadapally mandal of Karimnagar district had completed his intermediate. And though his parents Komuraiah and Anjavva own a three-acre agricultural land, the family was in poverty due to lack of rains leading to crop loss.
He had two responsibilities ahead of him, to clear the family debts and marry his sister Malleshwari into a good family. He travelled to Dubai in September 2015. In January 2015, while at work he suddenly collapsed at the site and was in a coma for nearly 45 days before succumbing on February 28.
Siddirama Goud (45) was a toddy tapper from Nizamabad who travelled to Saudi Arabia a year ago to work as a daily labourer. But depressed due to work pressure, he committed suicide by hanging himself.
“After my father’s death, it became tough to pay our fees. But my principal, who knew our situation, exempted us from paying school fees,” said Siddirama’s son Aravind Goud, pursuing ITI second year. His brother Rakesh is in IX class, while his mother runs the family by making beedies.
