Wayanad: Braving the pouring rain, hundreds of men pull a rope, the end of which is tied to a massive rock blocking the path to a landslide-hit village. Dressed in blue, green, white and orange-coloured uniforms, these men from the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Youth Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and NGOs are united in their quest to rebuild the place battered by the disaster.
Now, the village, which was cut off by the landslip, is accessible. Kerala’s Wayanad district, which has been suffering for a week, is scripting a story of hope.
Wading through knee-deep mud, volunteers from almost all active political parties in the state, along with the Army, fire department, police and National Disaster Response Force are working together in Mundakkai and Chooralmala, hoping to get the towns back up on their feet.
Besides participating in search operations, many of them are directing traffic in the narrow roads leading to the affected areas. Some are busy cleaning the relief camps, others are at collection centres distributing essential items to the needy. From an offroaders’ group to local residents, rescue efforts in Wayanad have seen participation by various communities from across the state — the kind of unified effort the state witnessed during the 2018 floods.
“I got a bottle of water today from a person wearing a coloured jersey. Later, a person wearing a jersey of another colour gave me water. We are just wearing the uniforms as a mark of identity. But that doesn’t affect us or our work,” says C.H. Abbas, a White Guard volunteer. White Guard is the volunteer wing of the IUML.
Abbas and 24 of his mates left their homes in Malappuram last Tuesday morning after hearing about the landslides in Wayanad. The 37-year-old says IUML leaders in Malappuram were not even aware of their presence in Wayanad till Friday.
Different NGOs and local residents distribute food and water to rescue workers throughout the day.
“I ate lunch with four other White Guard volunteers in Punchiri Mattam village today. My lunch was rice and curd. And my friend had fish fry in his lunch pack. That means it’s from different households, and it doesn’t matter,” he says.
“This is the peculiarity of the state,” says K.M. Francis, a DYFI worker and the district coordinator of the State Youth Welfare Board. A resident of Kalpetta in Wayanad, the 35-year-old was among the first few to reach Chooralmala within hours of the landslide.
Francis and other local residents, along with the fire force personnel, managed to save many lives that night.
“Besides rescue operations, the DYFI youth brigades are working in camps too,” he says.
Eleven kilometres away from Chooralmala in Meppadi, Youth Care workers have taken up the responsibility of collecting essential items, like water, clothes, footwear etc. coming in from across the state. These volunteers of the Kerala Youth Congress, who wear white t-shirts, have deployed their cadres across camps and hospitals, who inform the collection centres about the need for essentials.
“Essentials collected from across the state by Youth Congress branches are being transported to Nilambur before being brought to Wayanad,” says Muhammed Shimil, state secretary of the Youth Congress.
BJP’s Meppadi unit has set up a makeshift tent to distribute lunch. The party has set up another food donation centre in Chooralmala, says P.M. Aravindan, BJP’s Wayanad district vice president.
He adds that the party is also distributing food at the tribal settlements in the district in the wake of the rains. Besides this, workers from BJP’s youth wing, Yuva Morcha, and volunteers from NGO Seva Bharati are participating in search operations.
Coordinated rescue efforts
It takes about 30 minutes to go from Chooralmala to the nearest town Meppadi. The roads, which traverse hills, forest areas and tea plantations, are narrow with multiple twists and steep. The torrential rain makes it an even riskier drive.
Since the landslides, a group of eight youngsters has been directing traffic on this route.
“An ambulance on the road with a beating heart should be able to pass through quickly,” says 29-year-old Rajeefali. He and his friends were among the local residents who initiated rescue works in Chooralmala soon after the first landslide hit the region last week.
“We heard the noise and left immediately. We were able to save a few more people before the second landslide,” he recalls.
Rajeefali and his group were actively engaged in rescue efforts till Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, they noticed the increasing traffic on the roads, which was leading to congestion in many areas. Since then, they have been controlling the traffic from 8 am to 10 pm every day to ensure easy passage to all rescue vehicles.
In the initial days, when the affected town was completely cut off from the rest of the district, Pulpally Off-roaders, a community of off-roaders based in the district, played a crucial role in the rescue mission. The club, which has 30 members, had created a ‘Rapid Response Team’ at the beginning of the monsoon season itself via a WhatsApp group.
“We started getting calls in the night itself and we reached the area early Tuesday morning. We were informed that a pregnant lady needed help. We managed to rescue her even though the child couldn’t be saved. We took our jeep and crossed through the mud and rescued many that day,” says Anil Karunan, a member of the team.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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