KOCHI: Athul Thampi wanted to provide his parents and sibling with a better, safer life once he secured a job. But the stampede stole both his life and his family’s dreams.
Athul was the youngest in a four-member family — which includes his father Thampi, mother Lilly and elder brother Ajin Thampi — belonging to Vadakara in Koothattukulam.
“Our family is slowly recovering from his demise. We miss him,” says Ajin, who works for a private firm in Kochi.
Athul was a second-year civil engineering student at Cusat. His friends continue to stay in contact with the family and pay them visits.
“Several of Athul’s friends visited our parents last year, even after his death. But no official or authorities from the university have contacted us,” Ajin says. Within three months, the government provided a compensation of `5 lakh to the family, as announced after the accident, he adds.
Athul was laid to rest at the St John’s Orthodox Church, Vadakara.
PALLAKAD: Albin Joseph — a resident of Ezhakkad, Mundoor, in Palakkad district — had gone to the Cusat campus on an invitation by his friends studying there.
“The emptiness remains in our home, our life. All one can now do is be with his near and dear ” his brother Jibin’s words broke off.
At the time, Albin had just completed a fire and safety course after being trained as an electrician at the Government ITI in Malampuzha. His family — comprising father Joseph, mother mercy and sister Mercymol, besides Jibin — relied heavily on him and were hopeful of a better future once he secured a job.
The family received the Rs 5 lakh compensation announced by the state government. In May this year, they were given the key to a new house built with the support of the KSFE officers’ union, CPM local committee and the church. Until then, they were living in a makeshift house.
Albin had so dearly wanted his parents to live in a decent house.
KOCHI: Ann Rifta Roy’s family and the residents of Kurumbathuruth, near North Paravoor, are yet to fully come to terms with the reality that she is no longer with them.
For her father Roy K G, mother Sindhu and elder brother Rithul, her passing has left a huge void in their lives. “But life has to go on,” says Roy.
A year after the tragedy, the family is slowly picking up the threads of life.
“Nunnumol’s mother, who had returned from Italy where she worked as a home nurse to attend the funeral, has decided not to return. Our daughter’s passing has devastated Sindhu. Now, she is just a shell of her former self,” he adds.
Ann’s parents try to find solace, and remain close to her, by visiting her grave at the church cemetery every Sunday. “That is the closest we can be with our daughter now,” Roy say.
The family was given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh after the incident. However, the family lost it to visa fraudsters.