Compound wall of church cemetery collapses in Pathanamthitta, body comes out

PATHANAMTHITTA: The tomb of the church cemetery collapsed and a body came out along with the coffin. The cemetery compound wall of Puramattam Kavungum Prayar Marthoma Church collapsed. The incident happened last Thursday night. The coffin was later moved to another place. The pictures and videos of the wall collapse have surfaced. However, the church authorities admitted that the tomb was damaged, but denied that the coffin had come out.

Meantime, landslides occurred near Gavi Moozhiyar due to heavy rains in the district. A KSRTC bus going from Kumali to Pathanamthitta got stuck on the road. The locals and the police are trying to remove the soil. The landslide occurred in Moozhiyar at 8 this morning. Although it is not a major landslide, the passage of vehicles has been obstructed.

The central meteorological department has issued a red alert in Pathanamthitta following heavy rains. The district is expected to receive heavy rainfall and caution is advised. Extensive preparations are being made in Pathanamthitta in case of red alert. If necessary, locations for relief camps will be identified and people in landslide-prone areas will be relocated if necessary. 44 places are assessed to be prone to natural disasters.

The meteorological center has informed that fishermen should not venture into the sea on the Kerala coast due to the possibility of sea storms. Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki will receive more than 204.4 mm rainfall in 24 hours today and tomorrow. Cyclone is prevailing over South Tamil Nadu. Along with this, the rains are intensifying due to two low pressure areas extending from south Chhattisgarh to south Karnataka and from Marathawada through south Tamil Nadu to cyclone.

The first low pressure of the season is also likely to form over Southwest Bay of Bengal on May 22. Meantime, the announcement of the Meteorological Center is that the southwest monsoon, which is supposed to reach the Andamans on May 22 will arrive today. Monsoon will reach Kerala coast on May 31.

The heavy rain that lashed last night left several parts of Thiruvananthapuram city under water. Water entered various places like Attakulangara, Mukkolakkal, Ulloor and Chakkai. The waterlogging aggravated after roads were dug for the construction of smart roads.

The waterlogging in Chakkai Junction caused difficulty to the passengers coming to the airport. The authorities had spent lakhs to solve the waterlogging here. Still, the problem has not been rectified. Reports said water has entered business establishments in Attakulangara. Rain is still continuing in many parts of the district.

Travel to Ponmudi Eco Tourism has been banned due to heavy rains. Transport, quarrying and mining activities except for essential services to the hilly and coastal areas of the district have been banned till further notice. Recreational travel to coastal areas is also prohibited.