KOCHI: On July 30, the state woke up to a tragic news. Multiple landslides had washed away villages in Wayanad. The scenes were tough to watch, the cries were heart-rending, the news was downright dark.
Yet there was no element of surprise. Many were probably reminded of the past monsoons when Kerala witnessed similar events of varying proportions. TNIE takes a trip down that horrifying memory lane of people who remain on the edges of ecological damage.
It was November 9, 2001, around 8.30pm. A house full of people was preparing to celebrate a wedding the next day.
Relatives who had arrived from Kanjirappally were settling into the merriment. The rain, or torrents of it, had not dampened their excitement. It was then the land came crashing down from the hills that lined the property and with it their hopes and their lives.
Only C D Thomas and a relative survived from the spot at Poochumukku by the hillslide. He now seems reluctant to talk about it. “I lost everyone — my wife, my three children, my grandchildren.
..”.
He took time to recoup from the loss. “I spent six to seven months in hospital nursing a back injury after being stuck under rubble. I came back to an empty house.
My old parents came here to take care of me.” After recovering, Thomas picked up the pieces of life that were strewn around the rubble of his home and began life again. “What is the use of talking of that day?” he says, recalling the sudden gush of mud, stone and water.
Soon after, about s.