Relatives of those who were killed in the landslide at Pettimudy in Idukki district of Kerala have appealed to the State government to take immediate steps to expedite the search for tea estate workers still missing and bring back survivors stranded there to their native places in three southern districts.
Minister for Information Kadambur C. Raju, who met the relatives of the deceased at Bharathi Nagar and Thalaiyalnadanthankulam on Monday, gave them ₹3.75 lakh from his personal funds, consoled and assured them of all possible help. “Since the Tamil Nadu government has rushed a medical team from Theni District Government Medical College Hospital to give medical assistance to the injured, you need not worry about them. Moreover, the Chief Minister is in touch with his Kerala counterpart to expedite the search and rescue operations. The Tamil Nadu government will be with you always,” Mr. Raju told them.
Of the 49 bodies retrieved from the landslide, 26 are from Bharathi Nagar while 11 injured from this hamlet are under treatment in hospitals. Moreover, the search was on to locate 28 more labourers. “An Assistant Director sent to the spot (Pettimudy tea estate) is giving us latest information based on which we’re taking appropriate steps,” Mr. Raju said.
Collector Sandeep Nanduri and Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar had accompanied the minister.
Totally 85 persons from Bharathi Nagar were residing in Pettimudy. Relatives of the deceased, who had gone to Pettimudy in two vans and six cars on getting information about the landslide, returned to Bharathi Nagar on Sunday after witnessing the burial of the bodies of a few victims. Though 60 persons from Bharathi Nagar had gone to Kerala only 18 of them were allowed to reach the spot in jeeps as it was raining heavily on the Western Ghats.
“All the bodies were buried in a pit. When they opened the coffins for a few minutes, we could see their badly damaged faces and identify them. The missing persons might have been buried alive or washed away by the flash floods in the nearby Kallaar river as a body of one of the victims had been retrieved from a spot located 30 km away. Though 10 earthmovers have been pressed into service, heavy rain hampers the search operations,” said those who have returned from Pettimudy.
They said the 40 survivors, who were from Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts, should be brought to their native places as they wanted to leave the spot immediately.
