Toughest 30 days of my life: Man who lost his daughter in Wayanad landslides
The landslides killed at least 231 people and flattened three settlements completely burying homes, schools, temples and shops
Abhilash PK was in Salalah, Oman, in the early hours of July 30 when he learnt over the phone that two massive landslides had hurtled down the hill with ferocious volumes of water and debris towards his village of Chooralmala and two other settlements in Wayanad, Kerala. While his elderly parents and wife sustained injuries but were ferried to safety by locals, his nine-year-old daughter Ahanya had gone missing.
The days following the landslides, which killed at least 231 people and flattened three settlements completely burying homes, schools, temples and shops, are a blur for Abhilash as he made back-and-forth trips to the Aster Wayanad Speciality Hospital, where his parents and wife were admitted for two weeks, and the Meppadi family health centre, where bodies of those deceased were being brought in, for information about his daughter.
Tragically for Abhilash, the confirmation of his daughter’s death came in a much more painful manner on Wednesday. It was found through DNA testing that the body “misidentified” by another family and cremated by them in the first week of August was in fact that of his daughter Ahanya.
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“The body was found after nine days and therefore in a completely decomposed state. But for some reason, that family thought it was their 16-year-old daughter and identified it before officials. They cremated it and did all the last rites as well,” said Abhilash, over phone, his voice laden with grief.
August 30 marked exactly a month since the devastating landslides in Wayanad, the heaviest monsoon tragedy since 2018 in Kerala, and for those like 35-year-old Abhilash, it “has been the most difficult 30 days” of their life.
“In one night, my life turned upside-down. We are at zero and have to rebuild our life again, especially without my daughter. The mental state of my wife and my parents’ is extremely fragile right now and my only focus in the days ahead is to be with them and take care of them,” said Abhilash, who is currently staying at his in-laws’ home in Vaduvanchal.
A month after the tragedy, government officials said that all affected families have been relocated to temporary rental homes and government quarters as part of the first phase of rehabilitation. Others like Abhilash’s have moved to homes of their relatives temporarily.
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“A total of 793 affected families have been rehabilitated through government intervention to state-run buildings and private rental homes. Besides, 190 families have shifted to homes of their relatives. All the camps set up at government schools were closed on August 24. For those living in private rental homes, the government is paying a monthly rent of ₹6,000,” said Shaji VK, tahsildar of Vythiri taluk where the landslide-affected site is located.
Meanwhile, the CPM-led government has finalised two locations to construct a “community living” style township for victims of the disaster.
“We have identified Kottappadi and Kalpetta as the two sites where those affected by the landslides will be completely rehabilitated in a township,” K Rajan, minister for revenue and housing, told PTI.
The minister said the townships will be equipped with amenities like hospitals, public facilities, primary schools etc and the survivors will be extended assistance in the form of jobs and education.
At an all-party meeting held earlier this week, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government plans to build 1000 sq ft single-storey homes for the affected families with the option extended to them to expand to two storeys.
Officials said that the government’s assistance to the affected families in the form of financial help was continuing despite complaints from some quarters to the contrary.
“Around 834 families have been given the one-time assistance of ₹10,000 each. Additionally, 1,340 persons, who have lost livelihoods, are being paid the daily allowance of ₹300 per day. We noticed that there are some issues with bank accounts of some families where the money has been transferred. Otherwise, everyone who has registered with the government as landslide-affected will get the assistance,” said Shaji.
He said a total of 231 bodies and 218 body parts have been retrieved so far from the landslide sites. Only 212 of them have been identified. Only through DNA results will we be able to arrive at the correct fatality figure, he stressed.
In the landslide-affected villages of Mundakkai and Chooralmala, a contingent of the “Malabar special police”, a unit of the Kerala police formed for specialised law and order duties, has taken up the task of doing patrols on foot to prevent thefts in the area, a local official said. In the days following the disaster, locals had reported a few thefts in the area in abandoned homes and buildings, the owners of which were either in hospitals recuperating or staying at government relief camps.
Additionally, four police pickets have been erected at the entry of the affected areas to stop ‘selfie-seeking tourists’ and curious onlookers looking to capture visuals on their smartphones. “Only the people who lived here are allowed to enter so that they can check on their houses. Tourists and other members of the public are not allowed in this area,” inspector Rajitkumar M said.