KALPETTA: After eight long months of emotional turmoil and repeated appeals, Anil Kumar of Chooralmala, Wayanad, finally received the closure he had been yearning for. His mother, Rajamma, who was killed in the devastating 2024 landslide, has now been laid to rest in a single grave, honouring her final wish and her son’s relentless plea for dignity in death.
The district administration, led by Wayanad District Collector Meghashree D R, issued a special order on Thursday permitting the exhumation and reburial of Rajamma’s remains. The reburial was carried out on Friday under the supervision of the Meppadi village officer and the Tahasildar.
Rajamma’s body was recovered in two disjointed parts following the massive landslide that swept through the region. The parts were unearthed nearly 10 days apart and, due to the circumstances of recovery and identification, were buried in separate graves-N-34 and N-213-at the Puthumala mass grave site.
For months, Anil Kumar, who lost more than 10 members of his extended family in the landslide visited the district collectorate tirelessly, petitioning officials to allow him to reunite his mother’s mortal remains. “She always feared dying in a landslide and used to tell me, ‘If something happens to me, make sure I’m buried in one place.’ That was her only request,” Anil said.
Rajamma, who worked at a cardamom plantation, had survived the landslides in 1984 and 2019. Her worst fears came true in 2024, when the landslide struck, leaving her dismembered remains to be identified only through DNA testing.
Anil, who worked as a jeep driver but has remained unemployed since the disaster, was haunted by the knowledge his mother’s mortal remains were buried in two graves. “I couldn’t sleep in peace,” he said.
Despite early assurances from officials, Anil’s requests went unanswered for months. His primary concern was the onset of monsoon, which he feared would further complicate the process.
Now, with his mother respectfully laid to rest, Anil says he finally feels a sense of relief.