CHOORALMALA: A visit to the hamlet located on the backside of Harrisons Malayalam plantation on the way to Mundakkai from Chooralmala can freeze your brain. No trace of the 200-odd houses on either side of the stream. The road has vanished and the river has widened gulping the houses on either side. All that remains is countless boulders some of them bigger than houses.
The boulders that came rolling down the river razed houses leving no trace of life. An ocean was raging in his mind as Prasobh of Meppadi sat on a boulder staring at the basement of a house.
“My ancestral house stood here till Monday. My grandmother is still alive as she accompanied me to my house at Meppadi on Monday, hours before the tragedy. I lost nine members of our family including three brothers of my mother and their children, “ he said struggling to hold the tears.
“My uncle Bhaskaran, his wife Sakunthala, daughter Saugandhika, another uncle Vijayan, his wife Sheeba, son Nikhil Krishna, younger uncle Balachandran and his wife Ajitha are missing. All the houses have been swept away. The river merges with a stream at Chembramala and flows to Soochippara after which it merges with Chaliyar. Some bodies were recovered from Vellarimala,” said Prasobh.
The three lanes of labour quarters on the backyard of Tea factory have disappeared and there is no information about the migrant workers in these lanes.
“Even during the 2018 floods, the river did not swell and the houses were safe. Now the entire area has been swept away, “ said Prasobh. Pratheesh who married Vijayan’s daughter a year ago said he escaped the tragedy as he had to leave for Thrissur.
“I am living in Thrissur and had visited the family last week along with my wife Silpa. We left on Monday as my wife had an appointment with doctor on Monday. When we returned on Tuesday, there was no trace of the house,” he said.
A pungent smell of decaying flesh prevails at Vellarimala where thousands of trees have piled up on the river bank. A few houses on the banks remain submerged in water.
“ As the rivers takes a winding curve at Vellarimala, the trees have piled up here. We have recovered around 50 bodies from underneath the trees during the oast couple of days. The trees sre si heavy even excsvatirs cannot lift them. There are carcasses of deer, cats and cattle under the trees we are removing the trees to find bodies, “ said Shajil of Kambalakkad, a rescue worker.
“The area is filled wirh mud and you should be cautious entering the area. We are removing the logs in spots identified by sniffer dogs. There could be more bodies under the logs,” said Abdul Hameed a volunteer.
The arrival of excavators has expedited the search and the rescue team is figging up areas where they feel stench. The authorities have brought thermal scanners to search for life under the debris. But the task looked tougher as there are carcasses of animals under the sludge.
Meanwhile, the district administration has issued a note requesting to avoid unnecessary visits to Chooralmala. Social workers delivering food packets fir rescue wirkers should hand it over at the collection points. The government also urged people to avoid visits to relief camps as it is affecting the privacy of families.
ESTATE LANES WASHED AWAY
The three lanes of workers’ quarters on the backyard of Tea factory have disappeared and there is no information about the migrant workers in these lanes