Adimali landslide disaster: Last rites of Biju performed at ancestral home, brother lights pyre

IDUKKI: The last rites of Biju, who lost his life in a landslide in Adimali, were completed on Sunday. The ceremonies were held near the ancestral house. Biju's brother Shyam lit the pyre. On Saturday night, both Biju and his wife, Sandhya, were trapped under debris after a landslide fell on their house in Koompanpara. Sandhya was rescued after six long hours, but Biju’s life could not be saved.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George announced that the nursing college will bear the educational expenses of Biju's daughter. Biju's daughter is a second-year student at Theophilus College of Nursing, Kangazha, Kottayam. Minister Veena George spoke to the college's chairman, Joji Thomas. He expressed willingness to bear all the educational expenses, including tuition fees and hostel fees.

A landslide occurred on the national highway at Koompanpara in Adimali around 10.30 pm last night. A section of the embankment, which was more than 50 feet high, collapsed onto the road and the houses below. Eight houses were destroyed by the landslide. Six houses were partially destroyed. Locals blamed the unscientific excavation for the construction of the national highway to be behind the disaster.