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Search resumes in Wayanad, but gives only heartbreak to survivors
Mass search halted on Saturday due to PM Modi’s visit; body parts recovered from Mundakkai on Sunday; volunteers manage to retrieve a few documents; demand arises that survivors of each landslide site be accommodated in a single settlement
Three body parts were recovered from Mundakkai in a mass search operation in six zones in the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad on Sunday. Hundreds of volunteers and survivors participated in the search operation, along with Army personnel and cadaver dogs, before heavy rain forced suspension of the mission for the day. The search was halted on Saturday in connection with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I lost all my earnings, including my properties and savings, within seconds,” says Abdul Gaffoor, a trader at Mundakki town, pointing at the relics of a two-storey dilapidated concrete structure. Before July 30, the day the landslides struck, the structure housed a shop run by Mr. Gafoor. The area was a trading centre in the Meppadi grama panchayat. “Apart from tea estates, cardamom, pepper, and coffee plantations were the major source of income for marginal farmers in the area. I had three buildings in the town. All were wiped out,” Mr. Gafoor said.
When the search operation resumed on Sunday, Mr. Gafoor arrived early in the morning to clean his house filled with slush and rocks and to find the documents he left behind while escaping. Six families used to live in the vicinity of his shop. “Twelve members of two families went missing in the calamity. The remaining families were not home on the day. The landslides destroyed all those houses, though. The three-storey building near my shop is now a heap of mud and boulders,” he said.
Not even remnants
Rajesh, a resident of Chooralmala, lost his house to nature’s fury, but he managed to save the life of his bedridden father. “I have only one request to the authorities. The survivors should be accommodated in a single settlement as all of us share a close bond,” Mr. Rajesh said.
Ishaqe, 14, and his mother were also there but they could not retrieve anything from the debris-filled expanse as the disaster did not leave behind even a remnant of their house. Ishaque lost his father Nazar and sister Sinan to the landslide.
Minister breaks down
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran broke down while consoling people looking for their missing family days after the tragedy. While interacting with a father and son who were searching the spot where their house once stood, Mr. Saseendran turned emotional. “I never thought I would see such a sight. How should I respond to their questions?,” Mr. Saseendran said.
Hundreds of people returned to the devastated villages of Chooralmala, Mundakkai and Attamala after a hiatus of 13 days along with NDRF, Army, forest and police personnel. Volunteers from various organisations in the State, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka also joined the search.
3-5 feet of slush
Houses near the Vellarmala school are still filled with around 3-5 feet of slush, making search operations extremely difficult, said Jamsheer Alakkad, a volunteer of a rescue organisation from Kadannappally in Kannur. “Though my team could not find any bodies on Sunday, we came across torn clothes, souvenirs of schoolchildren, land records, rations cards, parts of sewing machines, and Aadhaar cards,” Mr. Alakkad added.
As per State government figures, the landslides killed 229 people, while over 130 are missing.
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