Mass graves prepared for Wayanad landslide victims; strict control in disaster zone

MEPPADI/KALPETTA: Those who fell to their death by the blows of the soil and were unrecognizable, will now rest in the same soil. At the same time, a decision has been made to restrict public access to Chooralmala and Mundakkai as part of intensifying the search for those still to be found. Only 1500 people who are in charge of the rescue operation will be allowed to cross the Bailey Bridge.
The final resting place was arranged in the graves prepared side by side without the fence of religion and customs. Eight of the 180 unidentified bodies were buried by 10 p.m. Each religious group was given a ten-minute prayer ceremony. The body of the woman, who was identified before the ceremony, was received by her relatives.
The mass graves were prepared on 64 cents of land at Harrison Plantation in Puthumala. Decomposing corpses were buried. It was decided to keep the bodies till now in the hope that the relatives would be able to identify them.

It was decided to impose restrictions in the area in a cabinet sub-committee meeting held at the Collectorate under the leadership of Revenue Minister K Rajan. Yesterday's IBOD drone inspection found two locations with the presence of human remains. Major Indrabalan, who is leading the search, informed that these are near the Bailey bridge built by the army. The dog squad will conduct an inspection here today. IBOD drone inspection will continue today.

Two more dead bodies were recovered from Parappanpara and Nilambur during the search till yesterday evening. Seven body parts were recovered from Nilambur and one from Soochipara. Eight dead bodies were recovered from the Chaliyar river alone.

In addition to the 11 dogs currently available, four more will arrive today to search for dead bodies. 1382 people, including soldiers, are serving in the disaster area. Food from outside is not allowed inside the camp. 136 counsellors are working in the camp. It has also been decided not to take pictures of the children in the camp.

Death: 359
Deaths in official records: 221
Male – 97
Female -87
Children – 37
Body parts found- 166