Students return to Vijayawada from Kashmir to an emotional reunion

With the death of Hemanth during excursion, things took a tragic turn

Hundreds of parents thronged the railway station to receive their children who had gone on a 15-day excursion trip to Kashmir, where one of their classmates died.

In all 245 children went for the excursion arranged by Veeramachaneni Paddayya Siddhartha Public School, with some school staff as escort. A ninth standard student Desu Hemanth Kumar (14), son of D. Brahmananda Babu, died when a horse kicked him hard at Pehalgam during the tour.

Hemanth was the only son born after two daughters, for Mr. Bhrahmananda Babu. The entire family was in grief over the death of the boy.

Many grandparents, brothers and sisters and friends turned up at the railway station on Platform No.5 to see their dear ones on Tuesday morning.

The children, who were seen peeping through the windows eagerly stepped out of the train, hugged their parents and kissed them who waited with anxiety as the train arrived late.

Emotional scenes were witnessed at the railway station as a teacher, Anuradha, who was with Hemanth just before his death and completed the procedure to shift the body from Kashmir, broke down on seeing the staff and the parents.

“This is the first time that we have sent our son for a long journey and stayed without him for 15 days. The sudden death of Hemanth Kumar moved us a lot and we are eagerly waiting for their return”, an anxious father told The Hindu , before the arrival of New Delhi-Puducherry Express.

Recalling how Hemanth suffered cardiac arrest, an eye witness P.L. James said: “The boy went for a jolly ride on a horse in Pehalgam and while getting down he mistakenly pulled its tail which might have irritated the animal that kicked him with rear legs on his chest”. “Hemanth fell in a stream and the water was very cold. We immediately rushed him to a hospital, but the doctors declared him brought dead”, he bemoaned.

“It was very unfortunate that Hemanth was killed in the tour. This was the first such incident in our institution. The Pahelgam police and locals helped us a lot in shifting the body. The police registered an accidental death case”, said Siddhartha School convener Parvataneni Prabhas.