One year of Pettimudi landslide; a scar yet to be healed

One year has passed since a fatal landslide struck the village of Pettimudi in Kerala’s Idukki district. The Geological Survey of India had reported after a probe that the mishap had resulted from the extremely heavy rainfall received in the area over a week. The relentless rainfall triggered the landslide which wrecked lanes of houses in Pettimudi and killed over 70 people. Majority of the people affected were descendents of dalits from Tamil Nadu who were brought here to work in tea plantations during the British period.

When the National Disaster Response force (NDRF) decided to cease the search for dead bodies in Pettimudi after recovering 65 of them, Shanmughanathan was not willing to return. Even though he looked for the remains of his elder son Dinesh Kumar (22) for almost six months after the incident, he could not find anything yet. 

Shanmughanathan who was working as a cashier in a bank at Marayoor has three children. The landslide had snatched the lives of his two sons_ Dinesh and Nitheesh. The two had gone to Pettimudi to celebrate the birthday of a relative but they did not return, says Shanmughanathan. 

While he was able to trace the dead body of his younger son, Nitheesh who had then been laid to rest along with 65 others at the Rajamala hills, it is the search for the elder Dinesh that has not been fruitful. On every holiday Shanmughanathan used to visit Pettimudi to continue searching for his elder son's remains but the efforts have all been in vain. Dinesh was a Computer Science graduate and had been working from home during the pandemic. His brother Nitheesh was pursuing Mechanical Engineering in St Joseph Engineering College. 

As per customs of their community, if children died before their marriage, some ceremonies tied to funeral rites had to be done at Rameswaram. Shanmughanathan had visited Rameswaram recently to perform those rituals for his sons. 

Shanmughanathan's agony has not ended there. He has not been able to obtain the death certificate of Dinesh and because of which deposits and insurance claims of his son could not be completed. As per norms, the police or hospital authorities are responsible for reporting the accidental deaths after which the concerned authority issues a death certificate. According to Munnar Grama Panchayat Secretary, death certificates had been issued already for all the deaths that were reported.

Pettimudi then and now (swipe the bar to see the change)