Grief hangs heavy in the narrow lanes of Old Ramanthapur, a working-class suburb on the eastern edge of Hyderabad. Inside the Yadav household, every corner seems to echo with the absence of 21-year-old P.Krishna, — the only son in a family of daughters, the boy everyone relied on. Days earlier, his right arm was crowded with rakhis, tied lovingly by his sisters who will now have only that memory to clutch on to.On August 18, Krishna, fondly known among his friends as ‘Diamond’ had stepped out into the rain to fetch his father from the Janmashtami procession. Often seen in crisp white shirts, he had put on a yellow turban and scarf on the festival day. It was the first ever Krishna Shobha Yatra in their neighbourhood. Until now, locals say, the festival revolved around the traditional utti or utsavolam, in which clay pots filled with butter or sweets were smashed by youths forming a human pyramid. The grand procession was meant to add visual flourish and attract youth to the celebrations.By midnight, he and four others lay lifeless on the road. The nine-foot chariot they were pulling had brushed against a sagging high-tension wire near RTC Colony. The current tore through the men in seconds. Krishna died instantly, along with Rajendra Reddy (48) of Ravindra Nagar Colony, Srikanth Reddy (35) of Sharada Nagar, Rudra Vikas (39) of Habsiguda and Suresh Yadav (34) of Old Ramanthapur.His sister Ramya, who had stayed back at home after Raksha Bandhan, remembers him urging her not to leave for her in-laws: “Just two months ago, he had planned my wedding down to the smallest detail. He assured me that though he is younger, he would always take care of our parents. No matter what [compensation] the government gives us, they can’t bring him back.”“Within seconds, it was all over. My son had come to take me home in the rain. He wanted to help move the chariot,” recalls Raghu Yadav, Krishna’s father, his voice breaking. “He was our support. But he is gone.”The loss rippled across households. Rajendra Reddy’s wife and two school-going children are left behind. Srikanth Reddy’s teenage children must now grow up without the man they relied on. The morning after the incident, Suresh Yadav’s family had returned to their native place with their infant daughter, their home in Ramanthapur locked and silent. Neighbours say he was the sole breadwinner.Among the survivors was Armed Reserve head constable V. Srinivas (55), a thick bandage wrapped around his head and his chest still marked from the CPR that saved him. “I have been friends with Vikas, Srikanth and Rajender Reddy for over a decade. We even took photos together before the procession began. When the Gypsy ran out of fuel, we started pulling the chariot ourselves. I was holding it from the back when there was a sudden spark. I collapsed. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital. I lived, but my friends did not.”Others injured included Ganesh (21) of Golnaka, Surva Ravindar Yadav (30) and Mahesh (27) of Old Ramanthapur. Mahesh has since been discharged, but the rest are still undergoing treatment.