Tragedy strikes tour to celebrate child’s birth in Ganpatipule temple

The long Republic Day weekend tempted the members of Nangare,

Warkhade

and Kedari families — all related to each other — to go on a two-day tour, which turned catastrophic on Saturday.

The Kedari family ventured for the outing to celebrate nine-month-old Sanidhya’s birth and to keep a vow made at the Ganapati temple in

Ganapatipule

in Ratnagiri. “Sanidhya was born eight years after his elder sister Sanskruti. His father,

Sachin Kedari

, wanted to fulfil the vows made at

Ganpatipule

temple for the child born after many years. Fate, however, had different plans. Who knew the vow they had gone to fulfil would be their last,” said Mahesh Bhande, a neighbour of the Kedari family.

Both, Sanidhya and Sanskurti, and their parents Sachin and Nilam, died on the spot in the fatal accident that claimed nine more lives on Friday. The other deceased were Sanidhya’s cousins, uncles and aunts. His grandmother and one aunt are among the injured and have been shifted to Pune hospital.

Sandeep Kedari, a cousin of Sachin Kedari, said the latter was a good driver and owned a couple of four-wheelers. He even worked as a driver in the city. “As it was a family trip, he decided to hire a minibus. He contacted a person close to him and hired the vehicle for the trip,” he said.

Sheetal Nangare, the mother-in-law of deceased Chhaya Dinesh Nangare, told TOI that Chhaya and her grandson, Pratik, decided to accompany the other family members because it was a long weekend. “They all had three days’ off. So, they hired a minibus and left Pune in the early hours of Friday,” she said.

An upset Nangare said she had lost everything in the accident. “I came to know about the accident late in the night and calls about the deaths came in the morning. I lost my playful grandson,” she said.

Nangare said the family members were very happy as a child (Sanidhya) was born about 10 months ago. “They had discussed about the trip with us on many occasions,” she said.

The Warkhade family is based in Piraguat, off Paud Road. The Nangare and Kedari families stay in modest houses at Balegaon village, off Baner road. They have their roots in Kusgaon near Hinjewadi. They all migrated to Balewadi many years ago, said Vishnu Balwadkar, a distant relative of the families.

About the Warkhade family, Sandeep Kedari said Santosh Warkhade worked in a private company at

Warje Malwadi

. “Warkhade’s wife (my cousin), who has survived the accident, is a schoolteacher at Pirangut,” he said.

“Their two daughters, Gauri and Dnyaneshwari, were good in studies and used to go on treks in the hilly region of Paud-Mulshi during vacations,” he said.

Residents in Balewadi area were in mourning on Saturday. The shops near the Vitthal temple in Balewadi were closed.