MEPPADI: The river carried away the priest and the idol. Only the banyan tree remains as a mute witness to disasters. The banyan tree is adjacent to the bridge built by the army across Chooralmala and Mundakkai. Trees and rock piles tossed away by the river can be seen all around it. There used to be a temple and a priest here. The Chooralmala Shiva Temple was the main place of worship for the residents of Chooralmala. Kalyan Kumar, a native of Pandalur, Tamil Nadu, who was carried away by the river, was the priest there.

Kalyan Kumar lived in the house next to the temple for ten years. It was a house provided by the governing body. The temple where poojas were held twice daily and many people including tourists used to visit. Poojas were held here before the landslide too. KS Rajendran, joint secretary of the temple committee revealed that the priest was told to move to a safer place when it rained the day before. The priest was not ready for that. In the morning, it was learned that everything including the temple had been swept away by the river.

"Only the river could be seen by the time we reached the temple. Two days later, the head of the priest was found nearby. The body part had washed away. When the family came to know about what happened, they returned home with his head," Rajendran said with a weep.