M. Palani Kumar

PARI Desk

Editor

large_01-PAL_1080-PK-Wayanad-water-soil-banks-and-bodies.jpg

medium_01-PAL_1080-PK-Wayanad-water-soil-banks-and-bodies.jpg

small_01-PAL_1080-PK-Wayanad-water-soil-banks-and-bodies.jpg

thumbnail_01-PAL_1080-PK-Wayanad-water-soil-banks-and-bodies.jpg

01-PAL_1080-PK-Wayanad-water-soil-banks-and-bodies.jpg

I arrived on the fourth day; it was
nearly afternoon by the time I reached. 



On my journey from Chennai to Wayanad, I
passed areas teeming with volunteers. There were no buses, and I had to take
lifts from strangers. 



The place resembled a war zone with
ambulances moving in and out. People were busy searching for bodies with the
help of heavy machinery. Chooralmala, Attamala and Mundakkai towns were in
ruins -- no signs of habitable spaces. The residents&#39; lives were shattered, and
they couldn&#39;t even recognize the bodies of loved ones. 



The riverbanks were piled with debris
and dead bodies, so rescuers and family searching for bodies used sticks to
navigate the riverbanks and avoid sinking into the sand. My leg got stuck in
the sand. It was impossible to identify the bodies, only their fragments lay scattered
around. I have a deep connection to nature, but this experience terrified me. 



Due to the language barrier, I could only
be witness to the devastation. I held back from disturbing them. I had wanted
to come here earlier but ill health held me back.



I walked roughly three kilometres, following the
path of the flowing water. Houses lay buried in the ground, and some had
disappeared completely. Everywhere I saw volunteers searching for bodies. Even
the army were out conducting searches. I stayed for two days and during that
time no bodies were found, but the search continued relentlessly. Everyone was
working together, not giving up, sharing food and tea. The feeling of unity
surprised me.

When I spoke to some of the residents, they
mentioned a similar incident nearby Puthumala in August 8, 2019 where nearly 40
people died, and in 2021 where nearly 17 people died. This is the third time.
Around 430 people are estimated to have lost their lives, and 150 people were
missing. 



When I left on the last day, I was
informed that eight bodies were buried near Puthumala. Volunteers from all
religions (Hindu, Christian, Muslim and others) were present and all rituals
were observed. No one knew who the eight bodies belonged to but everyone prayed
together and buried them. 



There was no sound of weeping.  The rain continued to fall.



Why do such tragedies repeatedly occur here?
The entire area looked like a mixture of soil and rock which could be a reason
for the instability. While taking photos, I saw nothing but this mixture – not exactly
a mountain or just rock. 



The continuous rain was something
unprecedented for the area, and the unstable ground caved in with the rain
falling from one to five in the morning. Three landslides followed, at night. Every
building and school I saw reminded me of this. Speaking with volunteers I
realised that everyone was stuck there, even those conducting the search seemed
lost. And the people who live there…they may never fully recover.

Wayanad: water, soil, banks and bodies

وایناڈ: پانی، مٹی، ندی کا کنارہ اور لاشیں

వయనాడు: నీరు, నేల, నీటి ఒడ్డులు, మృతదేహాలు

வயநாட்டு நீர், மண், கரை மற்றும் சடலங்கள்

ਵਾਇਨਾਡ: ਪਾਣੀ, ਮਿੱਟੀ, ਨਦੀ ਦਾ ਕਿਨਾਰਾ ਤੇ ਕਿਨਾਰੇ ਦੱਬੀਆਂ ਲਾਸ਼ਾਂ

ଓ୍ୱାୟନାଡ଼ : ପାଣି, ମାଟି, ତଟ ଓ ଶବ

वायनाडः माती, मरण, नदी आणि पाणी

ವಯನಾಡ್:‌ ನೀರು, ಮಣ್ಣು, ದಡಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ದೇಹಗಳು

वायनाड: बारिश, मिट्टी, नदी का किनारा और लाशें

વાયનાડમાં: પાણી, માટી, નદીકાંઠા અને શબ

वायनाड: पानी, माटी, पार अऊ लाश

वायनाड: बाढ़, मलबा, नदी किनारा आउर मुरदा

ওয়েনাড: জল, মাটি, ভাঙন আর লাশ

ৱায়ানাডত বোকা-পানীয়ে একাকাৰ ঘৰ-মাটি আৰু প্ৰাণহীন কায়া

വയനാട്: ജലം, മണ്ണ്, തീരം, ശരീരങ്ങൾ

Chooralmala

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Wayanad: water, soil, banks and bodies

A photographer visits the scene of loss

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit