Residents pay floral tribute to victims on 1st anniversary of Kavalappara disaster

Nilambur: Residents of Kavalappara here marked the anniversary of the devastating landslide by paying floral tributes to the victims.

The residents paid floral tributes to 11 people who were buried under the debris. Some of the residents were in tears and overwhelmed with emotion that they had to be carried to the memorial.

The massive landslide had claimed 59 human lives. Despite several days of relief and rescue efforts, 11 residents were not found. Finally, the search operation was called off and the 11 were presumed dead.

It was on August 8, 2019 that a mound named Muthappan Kunuu came crashing down on Kavalappara near Pothukallu here. The incident took place around 8 pm following unabated rains. But by the time the outside world came to know about the tragedy, 45 houses and 59 people were buried under soil.

The Chaliyar river was overflowing, preventing the rescue workers from reaching the area. Initially, the rescue efforts were carried out by the local residents following which the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) took over.

The post mortem was conducted at the Masjid-ul-Mujahideen mosque at Njettikkuma. That Friday, the Muslim faithful held their prayers at the bus stand in the area. The incident hailed unity among people beyond religion even during a disaster.

Besides the landslide, the overflowing Chaliyar river entered many houses in the area causing damage. But soon, help arrived from within and outside the state to bring the residents back to their feet.