The graveyard at Puthumala where an all-religion prayer will be held on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN
The first anniversary of the Mundakkai and Chooralmala landslides is being marked with sombre reflections even as survivors continue to express disappointment with the government’s post-disaster response and rehabilitation initiatives.
On Wednesday (July 30) morning, there will be an all-religion prayer and floral tributes at the graveyard on Harrison Malayalam tea estate at Puthumala, where dozens of victims were buried. Many of them still remain unidentified.
The district administration and Mepadi grama panchayat will jointly hold a meeting to commemorate the disaster at MSA Auditorium, Mepadi. KSRTC will ply special services to the Puthumala graveyard and MSA Auditorium. The services will be available from Mepadi panchayat office from 9 a.m.
A man takes picture of the devastated Chooralmala while his son looks on.
| Photo Credit:
SAKEER HUSSAIN
Revenue Minister K. Rajan, Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, SC/ST Welfare Minister O.R. Kelu, Public Works Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas, Wayanad’s MP Priyanka Gandhi, T. Siddeeque, MLA, I.C. Balakrishnan, MLA, district panchayat president Samshad Marakkar, District Collector D.R. Meghashree and several civic heads will attend the functions.
For many survivors, the anniversary serves as a painful flashback to the traumatic night of the landslide of July 30, 2024. People marking the anniversary on social media with posts and updates has brought back the pain and reopened wounds that still have not healed.
Abdul Majeed, an autorickshaw driver and survivor, reflects the sentiments of many: “The reminder is agonising for me and others like me who are struggling to erase the memories of that fateful night,” he said.
Mr. Majeed believes that only those who lived through the horror, losing loved ones and facing unimaginable terror, can truly understand the depth of the pain. “No one else can fathom the real pain and horror we endured; it is a burden borne solely by survivors like us,” he said.
Published – July 29, 2025 08:57 pm IST
