KAVALAPPARA (MALAPPURAM) : Babu, formerly of the village of Bhoodanam in Kavalappara, wore a stoic expression while standing in front of his new house. He did not wish to recount the disaster, of August 8, 2019, that changed his life. A massive landslide triggered by intense monsoon rain had wiped out the village beneath the Muthappan hill and buried 59 persons alive.
“We lost several relatives and friends in the landslide,” said Babu, now residing at the tribal settlement created by the state government at Anakallu near Nilambur, not too far away from Kavalappara.
Exactly five years on, 148 families from the region have been rehabilitated. But life has not returned to normal for many survivors who lost their loved ones. Some have not found closure as 11 bodies remain untraceable.
“All members of my uncle Impipalan’s family died. The bodies of his uncle and his son, Subramanian, couldn’t be recovered,” he said.
Impipalan’s daughter-in-law Chandrika and her daughter Swathy, who lived in Mukkom and had come visiting, and Subramanian’s wife Sudha too perished in the disaster. Babu had identified the bodies of a few of his relatives at the hospital after the tragedy that struck at 7.30pm.
On a query regarding the wait for the bodies, he said, “All that has ended.”
Babu now lives with his mother and wife in the new settlement, which houses 40 families from Kavalappara and Bhoodanam. Though every erstwhile colony resident has been rehabilitated, the livelihoods of most have been affected as they relied chiefly on farming jobs and daily wage work in the area.
A few families, the bodies of whose loved ones were not recovered after the landslide, have moved out of the area. “Our neighbour’s daughter went missing and the family shifted to Kozhikode. Their house remains locked,” said Vasu, a resident of the habitation set up close to the Vayanasala junction near Kavalappara.
Thirty-three houses were constructed with the aid of M A Yusuffali’s Lulu Group and two with assistance from the Varun Group. The area is now known as ‘Yusuffali Kunnu’.
Another person who remained missing is Jishna, the sister of a soldier named Vishnu. All members of the family except her younger brother Jishnu fell victims to the tragedy. Jishnu and his family now live in a house constructed on the land allotted near Njettikulam.
The government granted Rs 10 lakh each to the survivors, and several individuals and organisations donated funds, furniture, and helped meet other requirements. All rehabilitation projects are within a radius of five to six kilometers from the disaster-hit Kavalappara. Aid poured in from across the state and beyond, helping the victims find the lost rhythm of their lives in just two years, the residents said.
At the same time, Usha, another survivor, said the banks continue to demand repayment of the loans that were availed by pledging the land devastated in the landslide.
“I lost an acre. The KGB Pothukal branch authorities asked me to repay the loan of Rs 25,000, which I had taken before the tragedy. They said otherwise they will attach the land where I reside now,” said Usha, who lost her son Vinoy in the landslide.
Twenty-four families are residing on the Njettikulam property identified by the government. Meanwhile, 71 families currently residing near the landslide-hit areas are demanding rehabilitation as the region remains landslide-prone.