Wayanad (Kerala), Aug 9 (PTI) Mohanan’s face turned pale as he disembarked at Chooralmala. He is a part of a group of survivors confronting the devastation of their landslide-ravaged hamlet in Kerala’s Wayanad district.
Mohanan and the other survivors were visiting their birthplace for the first time since the devastating landslide that razed everything in the Mundakkkai area and left them homeless and grappling with the fact that they may never again see some loved ones who went missing in the landslides.
“I am in search of my brothers, hoping to get at least a body part of our dear ones. Many of our relatives and friends are still missing,” Mohanan said, his voice breaking often.
Mohanan and the other survivors joined the rescue teams on Friday for a joint search operation.
They demanded this from the government authorities, telling them that they wanted the searches to be conducted in places they knew well.
These people, who were fortunate enough to survive the onslaught of the slush mixed with boulders and trees during the landslide, have seen people getting trapped, their loved ones disappearing in the slush, and even some getting crushed under the boulders.
“We helplessly watched our people crying out for help and getting washed away. We had no way to go near them,” Saseendran, another survivor from the same area, said.
They pointed out the places where their houses and their relatives’ houses stood to the rescuers as the officers stared at mounds of just mud and rocks left in the place of the homes. Some rocks are so huge that a single one could flatten a two-storeyed building.
“We all lived here as a close-knit society, without thinking about caste, creed, or religion. So everyone lost in the disaster was very dear to us,” Vasudevan, another survivor, whose house was among the rare few that were unaffected, said.
He, along with his family, managed to run over to the other side of the hill when the first landslide took place.
“Even at that time, we had no option of going down to the other houses where people were stuck. Then the second landslide occurred, and all the houses in our sight, along with the people in them, vanished,” Vasudevan added.
These people looked for the rescue teams in the landslide-hit areas, requesting them to search areas where their houses once stood.
The cadaver dog ‘Storm’ from the K9 wing of Odisha police was also there to aid in the search.
The dog sniffed and gave indications of the presence of bodies in two locations pointed out by the survivors. The earthmovers were then brought in to remove the huge heaps of mud and rocks to search for bodies beneath.
In some places that were shown to the rescue teams by the survivors, nothing could be done as the location was under several hundred tonnes of heavy rocks.
“We only hope that we get something, whatever is left of our dear ones,” Rasheed, who has lost many friends in the disaster, said.
They still could not fathom the impact of the disaster, as this highly populated area, where rows of well-constructed houses, homestays, and resorts once stood, now has just heaps of mud, rocks, and huge trees shredded to pieces.
They kept on saying what their lives were like before the disaster and how they would never regain anything close to that in the future.
The survivors had to stop the search by 12 noon, one hour later than the scheduled time, and had to return.
The initial plan of the government was to carry out a mass search operation involving 190 survivors and the existing search and rescue agencies. But the government decided to reduce the numbers as the time allotted to the search was restricted until 11 am due to security arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the site on Saturday.
“Moreover, the survivors could break down as they get reminded of memories of their children playing in their houses or their wives or parents sitting there. So we wanted to give them enough time to spend at the site while searching, and that cannot be done today due to security arrangements for PM,” Kerala Tourism and PWD Minister P A Muhammed Riyas, who is also a member of the four-member cabinet sub-committee, coordinating the rescue and relief efforts in Wayanad, said.
He said the mass search will continue on Sunday, with the participation of more survivors who are now in relief camps.
The search operation was carried out in separate sections in Punchirimattam, Mundakkai Town and Chooralmala School Road, which were most the affected areas in the landslides.
North Zone IG K Sethuraman led the search team.
A thorough investigation was conducted at the places pointed out by the relatives of the missing persons, local residents, and people’s representatives.
The search team used machines such as excavators as well as manual labour to remove soil and investigate suspicious areas. They also employed the Police Dog Squad to assist in the search.
The search operation was a collaborative effort, with participation from people’s representatives, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Fire Force, Police, Revenue Department officials, volunteers, and others.
Meanwhile, a team of volunteers recovered four decomposed bodies from Soochipara Falls, a highly inaccessible area on the course of the Chaliyar River. These bodies will be airlifted with the help of the Army’s helicopter team.
The massive landslides that occurred on July 30 in the hill district have killed 226 people and left over 130 missing. PTI KPK TGB TGB ANE
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