It was once a lively settlement of estate workers complete with a small tea shop and a grocery shop. Those who did not work with Kanan Devan Hill Plantation Ltd., which ran the plantation, also lived there — jeep drivers, daily wage earners, and those doing odd jobs in Munnar town. Some had been staying there for four generations.
Pettimudy now looks deserted, shorn of life, inhabited only by heaps of rocks and debris that came tumbling down the Kurisumala hills, wiping out the three estate lanes on August 6, 2020.
The landslip killed 66 persons and altered the landscape. Four persons still remain untraced and have been declared dead on official records. Their families are yet to be issued their death certificates and the due compensation is still trapped in red tape. Only 12 persons escaped from the landslip that occurred around 10.30 p.m. The outside world came to know of the tragedy only by 7 a.m. the next day when two workers informed the watchers at the Eravikulam National Park, the entry point to Pettimudy.
It also took a long time for the National Disaster Response Force and other rescue agencies to reach the spot as pouring rain and uprooted trees blocked the small road. Poor communication facilities and bad weather hampered the massive rescue operation, which extended to 19 days, involving officials of the Police, Revenue, Fire and Rescue Services; local people; and NGOs. Sixty-six bodies, including those of children, were recovered. Most of the workers were asleep when tragedy struck, making an escape well nigh impossible.
Manoj Galaxy, a Ham radio operator who was on the spot throughout the rescue operation, underscored the significance of timely communication in such times. During the operation, Ham radio was used for communication since there was no mobile connectivity. The company has shifted all workers to safer spots now and houses have been built for families of eight victims at Kuttiyarvalley, for which the government provided land.
Many families are yet to recover from the shock. Two sons of Shanmughanandan, Dineshkumar, 22, and Nithishkumar, 20, who came to Pettimudy for a relative’s birthday celebration, lost their lives in the landslip. The body of Dineshkumar is yet to be recovered.
Shanmughanandan, who now lives at M.G. Colony, Munnar, used to come to Pettimudy almost every day for months to search for Dineshkumar. This week, he was at Rameshwaram to perform religious rites for his sons. On the first anniversary of the tragedy, he will be back at the site. “Life became meaningless after their loss,” he says.
Manojkumar, who participated in the rescue operation, said one had to be present at the site to gauge the gravity of the tragedy. Vehicles and other belongings lay underneath heaps of debris. The Pettimudy river had transported bodies to as far as 14 km away, aided by the gushing water from the hills.
The Pettimudy river is quiet now. The 66 bodies were buried in separate graves in a ground nearby, with each name engraved on marble slabs. A memorial for them is set to come up soon. Selvam, an estate worker, said no one is staying Pettimudy estate lanes now. Those from the Rajamala division are doing the plantation work. The area is almost devoid of human presence.
Gopika, a Plus Two student, escaped from the tragedy only because she was studying in Thiruvananthapuram then. But she lost her parents and 14 relatives. She passed the Plus Two exam with A grade in all subjects when the result was announced on July 31, days before the first anniversary of the tragedy. That should kindle some hope in the survivors.
