TTD contract staffer, mother end lives

Tirupati: B Gangadhar, a vendor at TTD luggage centre, committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan at his residence here on Wednesday. His mother B Kumari and wife Divya noticed Gangadhar hanging from the fan at their home at Parasala Veedhi here in the early hours on Wednesday.

With the help of neighbours, they took him to the SVRR government hospital. He died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. Kumari who was shell-shocked and upset at her son’s tragic end, left the emergency ward unnoticed only to hang herself from a tree, in the parking area of the hospital.

An attendant of a patient who noticed the woman hanging dead informed the hospital authorities who first reported to the police stating that an unidentified woman had committed suicide. Later, police on enquiry found her to be the mother of Gangadhar.

Sources said that Gangadhar’s family was plagued with several problems unable to cope with the meagre income he was getting as vendor at the TTD luggage counter at Tirumala, disturbing the peace in the family.

The family problems ultimately drove him to take the extreme step of ending his life. TTD Contract Employees Union honorary president and CITU district general secretary K Murali who along with union secretary Subramanyam visited the bereaved family at the hospital, paid their respects to the mortal remains of Gangadhar.

They blamed the TTD management for the untimely death of Gangadhar. They said that thousands of employees were receiving meagre salary ranging between Rs 6,000 and 8,000 in the TTD. They were suffering due to poverty, The union leaders alleged that the management remained unmoved even after the poverty was claiming many lives to enhance the wages of the workers.

Later at an all-party meeting, leaders slammed the TTD management for exploiting the contract, outsourcing workers and vendors and demanded that their wages should be hiked to Rs 12,000 as per minimum wage act.

Former Union minister and Congress leader Chinta Mohan and Rayalaseema Adhyayainala Samstha founder Bhuman stressed on an apolitical movement to force the TTD to increase the wages of workers and improve their living conditions.

They said that all the political parties should join together, setting aside the party interests to build up a strong movement to save the TTD from the clutches of ruling party leaders who are mainly responsible for the maladministration of TTD causing woes to the workers.

Leaders of various political parties including YSR Congress Party, Congress, social organisations and trade unions participated in the meeting.